Billions in Losses: Israeli Finance Ministry Official Reveals Cost of One Week of Shutdown

Middle East News Network: According to the news agency Bloomberg, an official at the Israeli Ministry of Finance stated that Tel Aviv expects the cost of one week of a full shutdown to reach approximately $2.9 billion.
The official explained that preliminary estimates indicate that the halt of economic activities and the security measures associated with the escalation will lead to significant economic losses during the shutdown period.
Just days after the start of the war, the Ministry of Finance in the Government of Israel revealed shocking data regarding the scale of economic strain caused by the direct military confrontation with Iran, estimating losses at 9.4 billion shekels, equivalent to $2.9 billion per week.
These figures come amid the imposition of a maximum state of emergency known as the “Red Level,” which has caused a near-total paralysis in production sectors due to strict restrictions on workers’ movement and the closure of educational institutions.
Informed sources indicated that the ministry is working to ease the financial burden by requesting a reduction in the alert level to the “Orange Level,” a step aimed at reactivating workplaces and reducing weekly losses to approximately 4.3 billion shekels.
These moves coincide with the continuation of airstrike campaigns launched by Israel and the United States, which have been met with wide-ranging Iranian responses involving missiles and drones targeting vital locations.
On the ground, officials confirmed that military operations could extend for several more weeks, meaning continued disruption of public life, bans on gatherings, and widespread reliance on remote work across most non-essential sectors.
The escalation has also triggered severe disturbances in global energy markets, particularly with disruptions affecting oil exports from the Gulf region, adding both international and domestic pressure on decision-makers in Tel Aviv.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich warned that the total cost of the war is likely to rise to unprecedented levels, noting the difficulty of absorbing these emergency expenses within next year’s budget.
Smotrich added that the public deficit now threatens to exceed 3.9%, surpassing all previous financial projections set before the outbreak of the current confrontation with Tehran.
In a related development, economic reports revealed the allocation of an additional 9 billion shekels to the Ministry of Defense, on top of the previously approved 2026 budget of 112 billion shekels.
With this increase, the security budget is expected to reach a record level of no less than 121 billion shekels, aimed at covering the costs of munitions, the mobilization of reserve forces, and securing the home front facing ongoing missile threats.
Source: Bloomberg + media reports.