Nearly two-thirds of the new immigrants have settled in just six cities, with Netanya, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem, Bat Yam and Ashdod being the top choices.

The number of Jewish immigrants who have moved to Israel has significantly declined since Israel launched its aggression on Gaza in October last year, compared to the year before, according to Israeli media reports cited by the Middle East Monitor (MEMO).

The Hebrew Walla website said during the ongoing war about 31,000 Jews moved to Israel, coming from more than 100 different countries; a 50 percent decrease from the previous year when 46,000 new immigrants arrived in the country.

The website said that according to data published by the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration and the Jewish Agency, about 19,850 Jews came from Russia followed by the United States and Canada with 3,340 immigrants, France 1,820, Ukraine 980, and Belarus 795.

Nearly two-thirds of the new immigrants have settled in just six cities, with Netanya, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem, Bat Yam and Ashdod being the top choices.

‘Effects of War’

According to a Jerusalem Post report, there was a 42 percent drop in the number of new immigrants arriving in the first eight months of 2024 compared to the same period last year.

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The reduction in immigration was highlighted during a discussion earlier this month of the Knesset’s Aliyah, Absorption, and Diaspora Committee, chaired by Knesset member Oded Forer (Israel Beytenu), the report said.

The discussion “revealed that the war in Israel has contributed to a decrease in demand” for immigration interviews.

“Potential immigrants from post-Soviet countries have delayed their plans due to security concerns,” the report said, adding that Forer urged the government to address the situation urgently.

Ongoing Genocide

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.

Israel is currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, since it began a devastating war on Gaza on October 7.

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According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 41,615 Palestinians have, to date, been killed, and 96,359 wounded.

Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.

Famine and Displacement

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.

(MEMO, PC)