Israel's war with Hamas led to a doubling of the country's borrowing last year, the Finance Ministry said on Monday. Israel raised 160 billion shekels ($43 billion) in debt in 2023 - half of it, 81 billion shekels, since the outbreak of the war in October, the ministry said in a report. It raised 63 billion shekels in all of 2022. Accountant General Yali Rotenberg said that 2023 was a challenging year that required a sharp increase in financing needs and "required tactical and strategic adjustments" in the government's debt raising plan. Total debt amounted to 62.1% of the gross domestic product in 2023, up from 60.5% in 2022 due to the spike in war spending and is expected to reach 67% in 2024. Israel last month raised a record $8 billion in its first international bond sale since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, with very high demand even after Moody's gave Israel its first ever sovereign credit rating downgrade in February. (Reuters)
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