Title: Israel Registers Budget Deficit in November

The Israeli Ministry of Finance announced that Israel recorded a budget deficit of 16.6 billion shekels (4.5 billion dollars) in November, indicating that this surge in costs is due to funding the ongoing two-month war against the Hamas movement in Gaza. It explained that "as a percentage of GDP, the deficit increased over the past twelve months to 3.4 percent in November, up from 2.6 percent in October." The ministry noted that "revenues fell by 15.6 percent last month, partly due to tax deferments resulting from the war." A source in the ministry stated that "the deficit for 2023 is expected to end at around four percent of GDP."