Israel, escalating "continued fighting," finally approves ceasefire due to war cost burden (comprehensive)

Israel-Palestine Clash Ceasefire Agreement After 11 Days
Israel Economic Sector Warns "Prolonged War Will Cause Economic Crisis"
US Pressures with $3.8 Billion Military Aid Card...Returns to Ceasefire

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Yujin Cho and Hyunwoo Lee] Israel and the Palestinian armed faction Hamas have agreed to an unconditional temporary ceasefire after 11 days of conflict. Previously, the Israeli government, which had rejected the international community's ceasefire proposals and vowed to continue fighting, ultimately accepted the ceasefire plan, bringing the armed clashes between the two sides to a halt for the time being. It is interpreted that the Israeli government found it difficult to continue the conflict due to warnings from the economic sector that the already weakened economy from COVID-19 could worsen further, as well as pressure from the United States that military support might be cut off.

According to local media such as The Times of Israel on the 20th (local time), the Israeli cabinet held a security-related ministerial meeting and decided to accept the ceasefire mediation proposal with Hamas put forward by the international community, including the United States and Egypt. The Israeli cabinet announced, "We unanimously voted to enter into a ceasefire without any conditions on both sides." With both parties agreeing to enter into a ceasefire starting at 2 a.m. on the 21st, a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was achieved after 11 days of conflict.

Until the day before, the Israeli government had declared its intention to continue the conflict, but it is analyzed that it accepted the international community's mediation due to pressure from the international community and the United States for a ceasefire, as well as the difficulty in bearing the enormous war expenses incurred during the conflict.

According to major foreign media, Israeli economists and scholars warned the Israeli government during the conflict that prolonging the war could lead to an economic crisis. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Israel's gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate recorded a negative growth of -4.5% last year due to COVID-19. The GDP growth rate for the first quarter of this year, when vaccinations had just begun, also recorded -6.5%, making economic recovery urgent.

The Israel Manufacturers Association announced that the losses incurred over the three days from the 11th to the 13th alone amounted to $166 million (approximately 188 billion KRW). Since the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics and banks are still calculating the total damage, the overall damage during the conflict is expected to be much larger. During this conflict, Israel suffered 12 deaths and over 300 injuries, and factories in the industrial hubs of Tel Aviv and the southern region were destroyed by bombings. Additionally, roads and airports across Israel were closed for ten days, resulting in enormous economic losses.

Moreover, considering only the operating costs of the Iron Dome missile interception defense system, which blocked Hamas's rocket attacks throughout the conflict, a huge amount of resources is estimated to have been consumed. According to the British BBC, the cost of one Iron Dome interceptor missile is about $100,000. Hamas fired approximately 4,000 rockets during the conflict, and the Israeli Air Force claimed to have intercepted most of them, so a simple calculation estimates that at least $400 million was spent.

In this situation, with even the United States pressuring that it might withdraw support for Israel, it is interpreted that hardliners within the Israeli government also gave up on continuing the conflict. According to foreign media such as the Associated Press (AP), the White House stated in a press release that President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu had their fourth phone call this week, but notably removed the phrase "support Israel's right to defend itself," which had been emphasized in previous disclosures of their conversations.

AP reported that this was interpreted to mean that if Israel continued the conflict against the United States' opposition, military support to Israel could be reduced. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, Israel receives about $3.8 billion in military aid annually from the United States, accounting for more than 20% of Israel's total defense budget. If U.S. support decreases, Israel would have to allocate additional massive defense funds, which is why the Israeli government had to accept the ceasefire proposal.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.