Israel has sold record amount of debt in US since war on Gaza erupted: Report

Israel has sold a record amount of debt in the US since its war on Gaza erupted on 7 October 2023, according to a report by Bloomberg on Friday. 

The government of Israel’s US-based bond broker, Israel Bonds, says it has sold $5bn worth of debt in the last twenty months. The level of bond issuance is more than double that raised by Israel Bonds, in similar time periods previously.

Israel’s war on Gaza started after the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel killed around 1,200 people. Israel responded by pummelling the Gaza Strip and invading it. More than 54,000 people, mainly women and children, have been killed in the Israeli attacks, and the population is facing "imminent famine", the United Nations says. 

Israel Bonds is affiliated with Israel’s finance ministry and sells bonds inside the US to both retail and institutional investors. The starting price for non-tradable retail Israeli bonds is as low as $36. 

A five-year Israeli bond has a yield between 4.86 percent and 5.44 percent, according to the Bloomberg report. 

Read more: Israel has sold record amount of debt in US since war on Gaza erupted: Report