Israel loses 950,000 jobs amid Gaza conflict

By Anadolu staff

JERUSALEM (AA) – The Israeli economy is estimated to have lost nearly 950,000 jobs since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict last month, according to official figures.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by the Hamas group on Oct. 7.

The offensive has killed more than 11,100 Palestinians and left a massive trail of destruction across the blockaded territory, according to Palestinian authorities in the enclave. Israel has put its death toll at nearly 1,200.

The country’s unemployment rate rose to 3.2% in September from the record low of 3.1% in August, the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) data showed.

The number of employed people in Israel is estimated at around four million, according to CBS.

With the outbreak of the Gaza conflict, more than 178,000 Palestinian workers were unable to cross into Israel, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.

Israel had previously issued permits for thousands of Palestinian workers from Gaza and the West Bank to cross into the country to take jobs in sectors such as agriculture or construction.

Last month, Israel sent back more than 18,000 Palestinian workers to Gaza amid its war on the seaside enclave.

A Palestinian worker is paid nearly 298 shekels ($77) per day, costing Israel nearly 1.4 billion shekels ($360 million) monthly.

- War cost

The Israeli army called up 350,000 Israeli reservists for its offensive on the Gaza Strip amid rising tensions across the country’s northern border with Lebanon.

According to the Israeli Ministry of Labor, 760,000 Israeli workers, constituting nearly 18% of the workforce, are not unemployed for various reasons, such as serving as reserve forces in the army, residing in proximity to Gaza, or staying at home to take care of their children.

Around 20,000 to 25,000 Asian workers, mainly employed in the agriculture sector, have also abandoned their jobs, with some leaving Israel for their home countries, the Israeli newspaper Globes reported.
Last month, the Israeli cabinet agreed to recruit 5,000 foreign workers to address the shortage in the agriculture and food sectors. Similar moves in the past, however, had proved futile in addressing the shortage during past conflicts.

As Israel continued to press ahead with its offensive on the Gaza Strip, JPMorgan Chase & Co. predicted that the Israeli economy may shrink by 11% on an annual basis in the last three months of the year.

According to JPMorgan, the current war has inflicted more damage to domestic security and confidence, resulting in an economic toll.

*Writing by Ziad Aslan in Ankara