Israeli Knesset Approves Initial Vote on Modified 2024 War Budget

The Israeli Knesset has given preliminary approval to the modified state budget for 2024, which adds tens of billions of shekels to fund Israel's war against the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), along with significant spending on defense and compensating homeowners and businesses affected by the conflict. According to a statement from the Knesset, the expenditure package of 584 billion shekels (approximately 159 billion dollars) or 724 billion shekels including debt repayment was approved by 57 lawmakers, while 50 opposed it. The budget will now be sent to the budget committee for discussion, where it may undergo modifications before a second and third vote expected later this month, as the budget needs to be approved in three separate votes before it becomes law.