Israel’s war spending hits $31b in ’24

Israel’s military spending surged to 112 billion shekels ($31 billion) in 2024 amid its war in Gaza and Lebanon, the Finance Ministry reported.

Total defence expenditures reached 168.5 billion shekels, or 8.4 per cent of GDP, up from 98.1 billion in 2023. War-related costs pushed the budget deficit to 6.8 per cent of GDP, though it eased to 5.3 per cent in February.

The conflicts led to three additional budgets, increasing state spending by 21 per cent to 620.6 billion shekels. Revenue totaled 484.9 billion shekels. Israel has yet to approve a 2025 budget, and failure to do so by March would trigger new elections.

Attribution: Reuters
Subediting: M. S. Salama