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Israel plans to raise defence spending by US$8 billion in 2024 amid war in Gaza
Israel will need to increase defence spending by at least 30 billion shekels (US$8.3 billion) next year, according to its finance ministry, as the war in Gaza rages on.
The ministry, in a document presented to parliament on Monday, said the overall 2024 budget will probably have to total 562 billion shekels (US$155 billion), compared to 513 billion when the spending plan was first approved last May.
As well as the military spending, the ministry said an additional 10 billion shekels (US$2.8 billion) will be required to cover the evacuation of around 120,000 people from Israel’s northern and southern border areas, higher budgets for police and other security services, and the reconstruction of settlements destroyed during Hamas’s attack on October 7.
The projections underscore the high financial cost of the war for Israel, which has mobilised hundreds of thousands of reservists for its ground operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip in the south, and deployed more troops in the north to counter threats from Hezbollah militants based in Lebanon. It is using huge numbers of costly missiles for its air strikes in Gaza and to intercept rockets and drones fired into Israeli territory.
Hamas rejects proposal to give up power in Gaza in exchange for ceasefire
Hamas rejects proposal to give up power in Gaza in exchange for ceasefire
The finance ministry’s document assumes high-intensity fighting in Gaza will end in the first quarter of 2024, presumably allowing Israel to demobilise some reservists. While the US has put pressure on Israel to shift from a large-scale military attack to more targeted operations to reduce the toll on Palestinian civilians, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said the war will last for as long as it takes to destroy Hamas. He and his cabinet have put no timeline on the intense period of fighting, or the wider war itself.