Haaretz Investigation: Israel's Post-Oct. 7 Wars Have Cost $142 Billion

Haaretz/TheMarker published the first installment of an investigative series on August 16, 2026 finding that Israel's wars since the October 7, 2023 attack have cost roughly 420 billion shekels (about $142 billion), with the total on track to approach half a trillion shekels. The report noted the 2026 Defense Ministry budget topped 175 billion shekels for a third straight year — more than double the 84 billion shekel budget in 2022 — and that the military mobilized roughly 220,000 reservists at the conflict's peak. The piece opens with the detail that IDF officers were told 'don't worry about money' in the weeks after October 7; a former army officer quoted in the report said 'in the first weeks, too much fire was used,' burning through tank shells and bombs faster than needed, and other experts questioned whether 'similar or better results could have been achieved in a shorter war.' A companion Haaretz editorial the same day, 'Israel's Economy Is Resilient, but the War Bill Is Due Soon,' warned the reckoning over who pays the bill — expected to fall on future budgets, taxes, and reduced civilian spending — has yet to begin nearly three years after the attack.