Israeli venture capital deals sharply decrease amid war on Gaza
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The Israeli occupation is seeing a sharp decline in its dealmaking since it began its war on Gaza, harming its tech industry.
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A Gazan surveys the destruction after Israeli airstrikes in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza on November 1, 2023. (AP)
Since the Israeli occupation began its aggression on Gaza, the venture capital sector has seen a dramatic slowdown in dealmaking, throwing its innovation economy off balance.
According to statistics provided by Israeli market researcher IVC, $325 million in total venture investment was invested in "Israel" during October in 120 deals, down from $1 billion in 232 deals in September.
"Israel's" ongoing war on Gaza is causing the Israeli economy significant losses, estimated at $260 million daily, Galit Altstein wrote for Bloomberg News.
Some international investors have paused work on purchases since the war began, market sources told the Financial Times.
Chemi Peres, a managing partner of the Israeli VC fund Pitango, expressed that "everything seemed fine" before the war began, and some investors immediately said they wanted to "hold back and see."
Last month, data provided by the Israeli-based Start-Up Nation Policy Institute (SNPI) showed that investments in Israeli startups have seen a persistent decline over seven consecutive quarters, experiencing a substantial 63% decrease in tech funding during the first three quarters of 2023 when compared to the same period in the previous year.
Several factors have contributed to this downturn, including a reduction in foreign investment, the global economic slowdown, challenges encountered in raising venture capital funds, and the political instability prevailing in "Israel".
The lack of venture investment funds is damaging "Israel's" self-proclaimed image of being a start-up entity.
The war on Gaza has also led to 15% of tech employees being called as reservists.
'Israel' demobilizes its reserve force as economy goes into crisis
The Israeli occupation forces are demobilizing reservists on a wide scale, the Israeli Ynet news website reported.
The Israeli outlet's political affairs expert, Yossi Yehoshua, said the Israeli military is demobilizing reservists without providing the public with an official announcement of the policy. It is worth noting that Yehoshua said the number of reservists demobilized cannot be released, further indicating the secrecy under which the military command is operating.
According to the outlet, a senior officer in the Israeli military said there is an intent to relieve more Israeli soldiers of their duties, as the military command attempts to conserve its forces as its aggression on the Gaza Strip drags on.
Calling up reservists to the occupation's military has heavily cost "Israel's" economy, according to previous reports that indicated that the Israeli workforce had suffered from the absence of reservists from their workspaces.
In a similar context, the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics reported a sharp increase in unemployment among Israelis, as the percentage of unemployed workers has risen from 3.4% in September 2023, to 9.6% in November.
