JERUSALEM: Israel’s parliament has adopted a revised budget for 2024 allowing for more spending to finance the war against Hamas, now in its sixth month.
The parliament said Wednesday it passed the new budget by a vote of 62 lawmakers to 55.
According to a statement from Israel’s legislature, the Knesset, the new legislation modified the budget passed in May 2023, increasing the spending limit by 70.4 billion shekels ($19.4 billion), or more than 14 percent.
According to the statement, of that amount, 55 billion shekels could be earmarked for the military and 15.5 billion could go “to finance civilian needs”.
Finance minister Bezalel Smotrich took to X to celebrate the passing of the new “war budget”, saying: “Together we will win.”
The parliament had already approved a 2023 budget increase for the war against Hamas in December, increasing previously approved spending by 30 billion shekels.
The Gaza war began with an unprecedented attack by Hamas on southern Israel on October 7, which killed around 1,160 people, mostly civilians.
According to the health ministry of the Hamas-controlled region, Israel’s retaliatory military operation to eliminate Hamas has killed at least 31,272 people in the Gaza Strip, most of them women and children.
