War with Israel cost Lebanon $8.5 billion over Hezbollah

The recent conflict between Israel and Hezbollah caused Lebanon a huge loss of $8.5 billion. Experts have calculated that these numbers can only increase, given the scale of destruction. Direct physical damage is estimated at $3.4 billion, while economic losses are mainly due to impacts on trade, tourism and agriculture.

The document also foresees Lebanon's GDP falling by 5.7% in 2024, which will weigh heavily on the country as it tries to recover from the 2019 crisis. Housing sector losses are estimated at $2.8 billion, with many homes destroyed, especially in the south of the country. Agriculture was also hit, with losses of more than $1.1 billion.

In addition, the war led to serious social and environmental problems in Lebanon, worsening the food security situation. The very consequences of the conflict affected the Israeli economy: GDP grew by less than 1%, which had a significant impact on growth forecasts. The total cost of the war since the beginning of the conflict is estimated at 250 billion shekels.