The Israeli Institute for Democracy said today, Tuesday, that 20% of the Israelis, who were forced to evacuate their homes after the Flood of Al -Aqsa on October 7, 2023, lost their jobs, highlighting the additional economic impact of the war in Gaza, according to Reuters.
The authorities explained that tens of thousands of Israelis were postponed from the areas near the Gaza and Lebanon border after the outbreak of the war.
Most of the displaced spent several months in temporary housing inside Israel, where they received government aid, which imposed an additional financial burden on the government, along with the billions that were spent on the army during the war.
Partial return and sharp economic effects
The survey, conducted by the Israeli Institute of Democracy in December and January, showed that:
- Only 39% of the displaced returned to their homes, while most areas of the north are still almost empty.
- 19% of those who were working before the war became unemployed by the time of the survey.
- 3% of the displaced were called to serve the reserve forces.
- About a third of the Israeli families have reported their decline since the war began, and the percentage reaches 44% among families in the north, where business, tourism, and agriculture were severely affected.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arcn5jfgi4
The increasing pressure on the Israeli economy
The Bank of Israel said in October that the sharp recession in economic activity in the north as a result of the war will exacerbate economic pressures, at a time when the Israeli economy is already suffering from:
- Increased defense spending.
- Lack of employment in major sectors such as construction.
- Economic growth decreased to only 1% in 2024.
On the other hand, tens of thousands of Palestinian workers are still unemployed after Israel closed the border in front of them at the beginning of the war, which exacerbated the financial crisis of the Palestinian Authority, which also lost a large part of its tax revenues, according to Reuters.
