Israel's economic growth revised down as war takes heavy toll
Israel has been at war with Hamas for more than a year with no end in sight, and the military last month stepped up an offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon
Israel revised down second-quarter growth as its ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza and fighting with Hezbollah took a heavier toll on the economy than previously thought.
Gross domestic product rose by an annualized 0.3% in the three months through June, in seasonally adjusted terms, according to the Central Bureau of Statistic's third and final evaluation published Tuesday. The previous two estimates published in August and last month showed growth rates of 1.2% and 0.7% respectively.
The figure was revised downwards mainly due to a change in government consumption, which is now up 5.3% for the second quarter versus 8.2% in the previous estimate.
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Israel's projected annual GDP growth rate for 2024 was recently revised downwards by the Finance Ministry to 1.1% and by the central bank to 0.5%. S&P Global Ratings expects the growth rate to be 0%, it said in a recent statement, announcing a one notch downgrade of Israel's sovereign credit rating to A.
Israel has been at war with Hamas for more than a year with no end in sight, and the military last month stepped up an offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Both groups are backed by Iran and considered terrorist organizations by the US and European Union.
