Ultra-orthodox need to join military to help economy: Israel's central bank

The Bank of Israel on Sunday warned of economic damage if more ultra-Orthodox Jewish men do not join the country’s military, weighing in on a contentious issue that has caused a rift in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wartime government.

In its 2023 annual report, the central bank said Israel’s war against Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza that began on October 7 had highlighted the personnel needs of the military and has added a burden to the economy due to the sharply increased amount of service days that will be required for both conscripts and reserve soldiers. “As the burden of military service is divided among a higher number of soldiers... the economic impact on each of them declines, as does the aggregate impact on the economy,” the Bank of Israel said.

 

“It is important that if there is an additional increase in that budget, beyond what was already decided, it should be accompanied by fiscal adjustments that will at least prevent an enduring increase in the public debt-to-GDP ratio,” Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron (pictured) said in a letter to cabinet ministers and parliament members.

77 killed in Israel airstrikes

Israeli strikes killed 77 Palestinians in Gaza in the past 24 hours, health authorities said on Sunday, as Egypt hosted an Israeli delegation for a new round of talks in a bid to secure a truce with Gaza’s Hamas rulers.

The Israeli military said it killed a senior Islamic Jihad militant in a strike on a command centre in the courtyard of the Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza. It did not mention his name or rank.

“The command centre and terrorists were struck precisely, the military said, adding it was intended to minimise "harm to uninvolved civilians in the area of the hospital”.

“The Al-Aqsa Hospital building was not damaged and its functioning was not affected,” it said.