WASHINGTON, September 27. /TASS/. The protracted armed conflict with Hamas is seriously affecting Israel's economy, The Washington Post reported.

According to its information, "the country has seen its credit score downgraded and its gross domestic product shrink sharply." The newspaper said that "tens of thousands of businesses have closed, and a growing number of jobs are being moved offshore." Construction, agriculture and tourism have been particularly hard hit, The Washington Post pointed out.

According to data from Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, cited by the newspaper, tourist traffic to the country has plunged by more than three-quarters since tensions escalated. "The economy was tourists and the tourists are gone," the newspaper quoted Abdul Qader Alami, 70, the owner of a juice and ice cream stand, as saying.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 250 hostages, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as retaliation for the aggressive actions taken by Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians before the crisis, launching air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria before starting a ground operation in the Palestinian enclave.

Qatar, home to the Hamas political bureau, has been acting as a mediator along with Egypt and the US to resolve the conflict in the Gaza Strip. In August, Doha hosted another round of talks aimed at securing a ceasefire in the enclave and the release of Hamas-held hostages. During the consultations, the US, backed by Qatar and Egypt, presented a proposal to resolve the conflict. Hamas, however, said that the US initiative took into account only Israel's interests.