What Has Been the Cost of the Wars Fought by Israel Since October 7?!

SadaNews Economy Translation - An Israeli economic report, published on Friday in the economic supplement of Yedioth Ahronoth, highlighted the exorbitant financial cost incurred by Israel due to the wars it has been waging since October 7, 2023, on all fronts.

According to the newspaper, as summarized by SadaNews Economy, the military cost alone during 40 days of war against Iran amounted to 50 billion shekels, while the direct civilian cost was about 10 billion shekels. This does not include the direct and indirect damages resulting from the missile strikes that have not yet been accounted for, as well as the significant indirect damages suffered by companies that have closed and will continue to close due to these strikes.

During the 12-day war known as "Rising Lion" against Iran last June, the Israeli army and economy cost approximately 22 billion shekels, and so far, compensation for the damages caused by the missiles has not been paid, which is estimated to ultimately cost around 25 billion shekels.

In the recent "Lion's Roar" war, the exorbitant costs are attributed to the prolonged duration of fighting and high daily expenses, while the war against Hezbollah incurs high expenses, especially with the intensive military maneuvers that recently took place in Lebanon. The newspaper also noted.

Additionally, there is continued Israeli control over more than 52% of the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire on October 10, 2025, at a daily cost reaching tens of millions of shekels.

One Billion Shekels a Day..

According to calculations from the financial advisor's office for the Chief of Staff of the Israeli army, the average cost of a day of fighting in the "Lion's Roar" war has been about one billion shekels.

During the first two weeks, as the intensity of attacks on targets in Iran escalated and in response to widespread missile launches across Israel, the cost reached approximately 1.8 billion shekels per day. However, before the ground maneuver in Lebanon, the cost dropped from one billion shekels per day to about 800 million shekels per day, and since the operation began deep into Lebanese territory, the cost returned to about one billion shekels or more per day. This cost includes summoning tens of thousands of reservists, ammunition use, military equipment consumption, treatment of the injured, and other expenses whose details are prohibited from being published, including the use of new and expensive types of weapons.

The newspaper pointed out, as summarized by SadaNews Economy, that a meeting is expected between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and Defense Minister Israel Katz to determine the amount of budget increase to be allocated to the defense system in light of the recent war.

The Israeli army is requesting an additional amount of no less than 15 billion shekels, which includes another 7 billion shekels that have been missing in recent months for the reconstruction division of the Ministry of Defense, due to the rising number of casualties and the payments provided to their families since October 2023.

The newspaper states: Providing this amount requires one of two options or a combination of both: increasing the Israeli general budget deficit from 4.9% to 5.6%, or part of it, and reducing the budget for procurement and development for all government ministries by between 2% and 3%.

It is likely that some "national projects" will be postponed, including the metro project, the construction of new government ministries in Jerusalem, and investment in roads and rail lines.

These budget adjustments require a government decision and Knesset approval in three readings, which is currently on recess until May 10.

Regarding the compensation costs for the war, which reached about 10 billion shekels, they are distributed as follows: approximately 2 billion shekels are paid as compensation for direct damages, about 7 billion shekels for the corporate compensation plan, no less than half a billion shekels for unemployment benefit payments, 50 million shekels for local authorities whose sites were significantly damaged, 50 million shekels urgently transferred during the holidays to the settlements located on the conflict line in the north, 35 million shekels as special assistance to farmers, 100 million shekels to local authorities across Israel as an initial compensation for expenses resulting from the war, 78 million shekels for local authorities to reimburse parents' payments for after-school child care, 60 million shekels that were transferred last month to local authorities on the frontline in the north for resilience enhancement and tension relief operations, and 100 million shekels for the police to recruit new units. According to the translation by SadaNews Economy.

The newspaper indicated that as of yesterday, Thursday, approximately 25,000 claims have been submitted to the compensation fund for material damages, including about 16,000 claims for damages to buildings, 2,300 claims for damages to contents and equipment, and 5,500 claims for damages to vehicles, in addition to hundreds of other claims for other damages.

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 a thousand claims in Beit Shemesh and Petah Tikva.

Cost of the War Since October 7

The Bank of Israel published data in recent days indicating that the cost of the war from October 7, 2023, until the end of February of this year has reached 352 billion shekels.

The estimates by the central bank now include the costs of the "Lion's Roar" war that lasted forty days on the Iranian-Lebanese front, and its resulting economic decline of no less than 1.5%, as well as damage to investments due to the closure of entire sectors because of the war, such as tourism and cultural activities and the festivities of Purim and Passover, along with a 40% drop in consumption during the war.