The occupation did not expect the Palestinian resistance to endure for all these past months. The ongoing "Israeli" aggression has led to severe losses, both in terms of direct military losses to the occupation forces and the catastrophic effects of the war on the economy of the occupying state.

This article highlights several facts that reveal the fragility of the economy in the occupying state and the extent of the losses its various sectors have incurred, which Hebrew sources described at the beginning of the aggression as "unprecedented." The cost of the war has exceeded $60 billion, including military and civilian expenses, and the reconstruction of the damaged areas within "Israel."

Israeli economic experts point out that Western aid is primarily focused on military support and does not extend to the economy, which has seen massive losses estimated by the "Israeli" central bank at around 260 billion shekels ($71 billion) by March 2024.

Worsening Budget Deficit, Declining Growth, and Shekel Collapse:

Since the beginning of the aggression, the occupation's financial authorities have been warning that their budget would suffer. On November 2, 2023, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that the budget deficit would rise from 1.5% to 4% by the end of 2023, with the deficit expected to reach 5% in 2024. This has directly impacted the credit rating of the occupation, with Moody's downgrading the credit rating of the occupying state to "A2" with a negative outlook, while Standard & Poor's predicted that the government's deficit would widen to 8% of GDP in 2024, compared to 5.5% in 2023. They also changed the outlook from "stable" to "negative," noting that the continuation of the war would mean a broader and more apparent impact.

Standard & Poor's: The government deficit will widen to 8% in 2024 compared to 5.5% in 2023

As for the shekel, it has suffered significant losses since the beginning of the aggression. In the early days of the war, it lost about 10% of its value, reaching its lowest level in eight years. These sources noted that maintaining the exchange rate and its slight improvement in the days following the start of the aggression on Gaza was due to the allocation of nearly $30 billion in foreign currencies by the "Israeli" central bank for sale in the market in an attempt to support the shekel. This volatility has affected the prices of goods and the lives of settlers.

Thousands of "Israeli" Companies in Turmoil:

Perhaps "Israeli" companies are the second victim of the ongoing aggression on Gaza. On one hand, they have been affected by the call-up of reservists and the partial or complete halt of their operations, in addition to being impacted by developments on the "northern front" and the halting of maritime navigation in the Red Sea, among other developments. According to semi-official data, 726,000 "Israeli" companies have closed their doors since the beginning of the aggression on Gaza, and these sources expect the number of closed companies to reach 800,000 by the end of 2024.

The technology sector is one of the most prominent economic sectors in the occupying state. With the call-up of about 300,000 reservists at the beginning of the aggression, data revealed that between 75,000 and 100,000 soldiers among them are employed in local technology companies, representing between 15% and 20% of the total workforce in this sector, severely affecting the sector's ability to continue operating. With the declining ability of these companies to secure financing, more than 70% of them have had to delay or cancel their projects.

Around 726,000 "Israeli" companies have closed since the start of Operation "Al-Aqsa Flood" and the aggression on Gaza

The impact has not been limited to "Israeli" companies alone. Foreign direct investment has also declined by 40%, from $25 billion in 2023 to $15 billion in the first half of 2024, and many global companies have withdrawn from the occupying state either partially or entirely.

Have Settlers' Lives and Livelihoods Been Affected?

There is no doubt that the aforementioned data and related losses in the industrial, technological, energy, banking, and tourism sectors have harmed the living conditions of settlers. Unemployment rates have risen to unprecedented levels, with the unemployment rate increasing from 4.5% in January 2024 to 6.2% in July 2024, meaning the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Poverty rates have also significantly increased. According to economic sources, about 85.1% of households in the occupying state suffer from energy shortages, and 81.8% of these households are burdened with accumulated debt. Poverty rates have risen from 22.7% in 2023 to 25.3% by mid-2024. These figures indicate that more than a quarter of the population in the occupying state (these sources do not distinguish between settlers and Palestinians living under occupation) lives below the poverty line, contributing to a rise in crime rates, which have reached 7%.

Foreign investments declined by 40%, from $25 billion in 2023 to $15 billion in the first half of 2024

Finally, in light of the fragility of the occupation state's reality, these data and details, along with the settlers' sense of insecurity in the occupied Palestinian territories, have led to settlers leaving the occupied territories, becoming one of the most significant outcomes of Operation "Al-Aqsa Flood." Hebrew sources revealed that 470,000 settlers left the occupied territories between October 7, 2023, and early December 2023, while other Hebrew sources indicate that more than 600,000 settlers left before October 7 for vacation outside the occupied territories and decided to extend their vacations after the outbreak of the conflict.

These sources also indicate that a large number of young soldiers refused to return to participate in the aggression on Gaza.

The data shows a significant decrease in the number of Jewish immigrants to the occupying state, dropping by about 50% compared to the same period in 2023; this reaffirms the importance of Operation "Al-Aqsa Flood" and its significant role in intensifying the confrontation with the enemy, further confirming that the battle with the occupation is not limited to a single aspect and that the field achievements in Gaza are supported by other successes in various fields and areas, potentially dispelling the notion of a "safe land" for settlers worldwide.

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(2) Russia Today, 9/10/2023. https://bit.ly/47gX1sZ

(3) Al Jazeera Net, 2/11/2023. https://bit.ly/3u1K4VJ

(4) The Business Standard, 25/10/2023. https://bit.ly/47bDNVy

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(11) Anadolu Agency, 17/12/2023. https://tinyurl.com/yc2xcbaz

(12) Al Jazeera, 25/5/2024. https://tinyurl.com/y52xaydf

(13) Al Jazeera, 9/8/2024. https://tinyurl.com/5ahpjr3x

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