Special to WorldTribune.com

TEL AVIV — Israel has determined that its 50-day war with the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip cost more than $2.5 billion.

Officials said the Israeli military spent more than $100 million on the cost of missile and rocket defense against Hamas and its Palestinian militia allies. They said each interception of Palestinian rockets by Israel’s Iron Dome system cost $100,000.

“The expenditure on Operation Protective Edge [Gaza war] — military expenditure, the direct expenditure — is more than nine billion shekel [$2.5 billion],” Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said.

In an address to a conference in Tel Aviv on Sept. 2, Ya’alon said Iron Dome intercepted 600 missiles and rockets during the Gaza war. The military reported that nearly 4,700 projectiles, including mortars, were fired from the Gaza Strip in July and August 2014.

“From the economic point of view it’s worth it, weighed against the potential damage,” Ya’alon said. “But it’s still $100,00 for every interception.”

Officials said the war was conducted mostly by the air force. They said 5,000 out of 6,000 targets in the Gaza Strip were attacked by the Israel Air Force, assigned to stop enemy missile and rocket fire.

“The terror organizations in the Gaza Strip — Hamas Islamic Jihad and others — had 10,000 rounds at the beginning of Operation Protective Edge,” Ya’alon said. “Today they have about one-fifth of that, but that’s still
2,000 rounds.”

Officials said the military and Defense Ministry, which also urged greater investment in intelligence collection, have sought a supplemental budget of up to $3.2 billion. On Aug. 31, the Cabinet of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu moved to release up to $600 million for the defense budget in 2015.

“We must differentiate between defense and the defense budget,” Economy Minister Naftali Bennett said. “If they become more efficient, they’ll get more. If they don’t become more efficient, they won’t get more.”

  000 each, Iron Dome, Israel’s Gaza war bill: Iron Dome intercepts of Hamas rocket cost $100, Moshe Ya’alon, Naftali Bennett, nine billion shekel