Fiscal deficit climbs to 8.5% of GDP amid war
Sharon Wrobel is a tech reporter for The Times of Israel.
The fiscal deficit climbed to 8.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), or NIS 8.8 billion ($2.3 billion) in September, as the government continues to pour billions of shekels into financing the year-long war with Hamas and Hezbollah, according to preliminary figures released by the Finance Ministry.
It marks the sixth month the deficit is above the annual government target of 6.6% of national output set for the end of 2024. Israel posted a budget deficit of 4.2% in 2023.
The deficit widened from 7.6% of GDP in June, 8.1% in July and 8.3% in August, amid growing military and civilian spending on the ongoing war.
In September, government expenditure amounted to NIS 51 billion ($13.5 billion), taking spending since the start of the year to about NIS 450 billion ($120 billion), a cumulative increase of 31% compared with the same period in 2023. War costs since the outbreak of the fighting in October last year ballooned to NIS 103.4 billion ($27 billion).