The conflict between militant Islamist group Hamas and the nation of Israel, which started Saturday morning, has led to deaths of more than 700 Israelis, most of whom were civilians, and 500 Palestinians who were killed in Israel’s counterattacks.
These reports come from the Israel and the Palestinian authorities, respectively. According to Israel’s military, Hamas militants have been infiltrating the country from Lebanon to the north, adding new fronts to the conflict. Lebanon reported Israeli air and artillery strikes near its border.
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The shekel, Israel’s currency, dropped by 2 percent at the open of markets this morning. The Bank of Israel plans to spend as much as $45 billion to prop up the currency. To do this, it plans to sell from its reserve of foreign currencies, It allowed the shekel to go public after the surprise attacks from Hamas a way to support Israeli markets. The shekel was already in decline before the conflict, due to political turmoil involving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the country’s Supreme Court, and pliticians and other officials were hesitant to support the shekel. The shekel has been one of the most underperforming currencies of 2023, according to Bloomberg’s tracking of 31 currencies. And this conflict has only exacerbated it.
Netanyahu has stated the war with Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip will be prolonged and “difficult,” influencing speculators to act accordingly.
Meanwhile, oil prices (WTI futures) rose 5.4 percent because of the conflict, topping $87 a barrel. Investors are watching closely as the United States and Iran are set to come to a head, due to the latter’s support of Hamas and the former’s alliance with Israel. Actions to restrict access to Iranian oil, which has greatly added to the global supply of crude oil in 2023, are expected to come from the American government.
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