Israel admits Gaza rockets inflicted $368mn in economic loss to its businesses
Israel’s Manufacturers’ Association has released a report admitting to the huge economic damage sustained by the regime as a result of the barrage of missiles coming from the besieged Gaza Strip during the Palestinian resistance's Operation al-Quds Sword against the Zionist entity.
The Monday report says Israeli businesses lost 1.2 billion shekels ($368 million) during 11 days of fighting between Israel and the Palestinian resistance groups based in Gaza.
The association, which represents some 1,500 firms and 400,000 workers, said the loss was mostly due to employees choosing to stay at home due to the nearly nonstop rocket fire from Gaza.
The main industrial group pointed out that about a third of workers were absent from work in southern Israel and about 10% stayed home in areas closer to the commercial hub of central Israel during the war.
"The non-arrival of workers led to a significant decrease in the outputs of industrial companies, a decline in sales and a direct harm to revenues," it said.
Fifty Israeli factories suffered millions of shekels in direct damage from rocket shrapnel, though the manufacturers association did not include in its estimate indirect damage, like cancelled orders.
In the 2014 war that lasted seven weeks, Israel's central bank estimated the Tel Aviv's economy took a 3.5 billion shekel hit, plus nearly the same amount in damages to the tourism sector.
Ron Tomer, president of the association, called on the government to set up a permanent compensation scheme that would more efficiently help businesses in future rounds of fighting.
"It is not time for bureaucracy and procrastination rather for rehabilitation and full support for these companies, which throughout the operation proved they know how to function and produce under rocket fire," he said.
Israel's parliamentary finance committee is slated to debate the issue on Tuesday.
The Palestinians’ victory in the recent war was predictable because the Zionist regime had not won any wars in the last 16 years, neither in Lebanon nor in the Gaza Strip.
Israel sustained a heavy defeat in its latest confrontation with resistance groups in the Gaza Strip. The regime declared a ceasefire early on Friday after 12 days of heavy bombardment of Gaza, to which the resistance responded with firing thousands of rockets into the occupied territories.
At least 248 Palestinians were killed in Gaza, including 66 children, while Palestinian rockets killed 12 in Israel.
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