The Israeli Ministry of Finance said on Sunday that Israel recorded a budget deficit of 16.6 billion shekels (4.5 billion dollars) in November, pointing out that this surge in costs is due to financing the war ongoing for two months against the Hamas movement in Gaza.

It added that as a percentage of GDP, the deficit during the previous twelve months rose to 3.4 percent in November from 2.6 percent in October.

A ministry source also said the deficit for 2023 will end at about four percent of GDP, according to Reuters.

The ministry pointed out that revenues decreased by 15.6 percent last month, partly due to tax deferrals resulting from the war that began on October 7.

Meanwhile, the Israeli deficit was 22.9 billion shekels in October and 1.7 billion shekels in November 2022.