High Cost of the Zionist Regime's Military Adventure Has Been Reported in the Media

TEHRAN (Defapress) - Gad Lior, an economic expert and commentator for the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, recently admitted in an article published in this Hebrew media outlet that the war factor is becoming increasingly heavier for Israel by the moment, while we are currently only discussing its direct costs and have not yet mentioned the consequences of this war on the economy, such as reduced growth, increased inflation, and capital flight.

The article states: Military expenses have exceeded 50 billion shekels, and direct civilian costs have reached nearly 10 billion shekels. This is in addition to the direct and indirect damage caused by missile attacks, which have not yet been fully calculated and have occurred on over a thousand fronts during the past forty days of the war, as well as the severe indirect damage to businesses that have been and will continue to be closed as a result of these attacks.

The war with Iran, which began in June of last year and lasted only 12 days, cost the Israeli military and economy nearly 22 billion shekels. It is worth noting that not all compensation for missile damage from the previous war has yet been paid to the victims, and it is estimated that the final costs will reach approximately 25 billion shekels.

In the current war, even more exorbitant costs have been incurred due to the prolonged nature of the conflict and its high daily expenses.

The war against Hezbollah has also become more costly, especially with the recent intensive military aggression in Lebanon.

Furthermore, since the ceasefire of October 13, 2015, the Israeli army still controls 52 percent of the Gaza Strip at a daily cost of tens of millions of shekels.

Cost of one day of battle: One billion shekels

According to calculations by the office of the financial advisor to the Chief of Staff of the Zionist regime's army, the average daily cost of the war during the recent operation (the recent aggression against Iran) was approximately one billion shekels. In the first two weeks, with the intensification of attacks on targets in Iran and countering widespread missile fire throughout occupied Palestine, this cost reached about 1.8 billion shekels per day.

However, before the Israeli army's engagement and military war in Lebanon, this cost decreased from one billion shekels per day to about 800 million shekels per day. Since the onset of this military maneuver on Lebanese soil, the cost has returned to approximately one billion shekels or more per day.

This cost includes the mobilization of tens of thousands of reserve forces, the use of ammunition, the depletion of military equipment, the treatment of casualties, and other expenses whose details are prohibited from publication, including the use of various types of new and expensive weapons.

After the holidays, a meeting is expected to be held with the participation of the Prime Minister along with the Ministers of Finance and Defense to determine the amount of the budget increase to be allocated to the defense establishment after the recent war. The army requests at least an additional 15 billion shekels, including another 7 billion shekels that have been missing from the Ministry of Defense's reconstruction department in recent months due to the increased number of casualties and payments to victims' families since October 2023.

Securing this amount requires one of two options, or a combination of them: increasing the government budget deficit from 4.9 percent to 5.6 percent, or part of it, and reducing the procurement and development budgets of all service ministries by 2 to 3 percent.

In addition, some national projects, including the metro project, the construction of new government ministries in occupied Quds, and investments in roads and railways, are expected to be postponed.

These budget amendments require a government decision and Knesset approval in three reading sessions, which are currently suspended until May 10.

Regarding the costs of the civil war, which as mentioned is approximately 10 billion shekels, it is distributed as follows: approximately 2 billion shekels have been paid as compensation for direct damages; 7.5 billion shekels as compensation: approximately 7 billion shekels for the business compensation plan and at least half a billion shekels for unemployment benefits; 50 million shekels for local authorities whose sites were severely damaged; 50 million shekels that were urgently transferred during the holidays to settlements located on the northern conflict line.

35 million shekels as special aid for farmers; 100 million shekels for local authorities as initial compensation for war-related expenses; 78 million shekels for local authorities to reimburse parents for after-school childcare costs; 60 million shekels transferred last month to local authorities on the northern conflict line for fortification and de-escalation measures; and 100 million shekels allocated for the hiring of new units by the police.

To date, approximately 25,000 claims have been submitted to the Property Damage Compensation Fund, including about 16,000 claims for damage to buildings, 2,300 claims for damage to furnishings and equipment, and 5,500 claims for damage to vehicles, in addition to hundreds of claims for other types of damage.

Among all the claims, approximately 5,000 claims were submitted in Tel Aviv, about 3,500 in Beersheba, 2,200 in Arad, about 1,450 in Dimona, and over 1,000 in Beit Shemesh and Bat Yam.

Cost of the war since October 7: More than 350 billion shekels

The Bank of Israel recently released data indicating that the cost of the war from October 7, 2023, until the end of last February reached 352 billion shekels.

The central bank's estimates now also include the costs of the 40-day war on the Iranian and Lebanese fronts, which has led to a reduction in growth of at least 1.5 percent.

Investments were also affected by the shutdown of entire sectors due to the war, such as tourism, culture, Purim and Passover celebrations, and entertainment venues. Additionally, consumption decreased by 40 percent during the war.

The Ministry of Finance and the National Insurance Institute informed the Yedioth Ahronoth news website that they intend to pay, starting April 12, most sick leave benefits (unemployment benefits up to 70% of salary) to private sector employees who have been absent from their workplace for 10 days or more.

It is worth noting that on April 1, public sector employees received their full salary, 100 percent of their usual March salary, from the first day of absence following the war, a move that drew widespread criticism from the business community.