The Comptroller of the Occupation State has stopped publishing monthly reports on the cost of the war in Gaza and Lebanon, raising questions about the reasons behind this decision, which casts doubt on the efficiency of government spending.
According to Haaretz newspaper, this move raises concerns about the transparency in managing the “state’s” budget. The absence of this information weakens the ability to track government spending and understand the true cost of the war, raising questions about the efficiency of financial resource management.
The Halt of War Cost Reporting
Until the end of 2024, the Comptroller at the Ministry of Finance published detailed monthly reports on the cost of the war as part of the national budget performance reports.
However, since January 2025, these reports have ceased, making it difficult to analyze the performance of the “state” budget and understand the actual government spending.
The cost of the war reached 124.7 billion shekels (with 1 USD equaling 3.6 shekels), of which approximately 100 billion shekels were spent in 2024.
An additional cost of 18.5 billion shekels was added from the compensation fund for Israeli citizens and businesses affected, bringing the total to about 150 billion shekels.
The newspaper noted that previous reports on the war’s cost distinguished between security and civil expenses, which allowed for better analysis of the increase in government spending. However, the discontinuation of regular reporting on the cost of the war means that it is now impossible to track actual government spending once the war expenses are deducted.
Haaretz expressed concern over this situation, particularly with statements about a strong resumption of the war. As a result, it is now impossible to know the real-time cost of military operations.
