JERUSALEM

More than 82,000 Israelis have left the country in 2024 amid Tel Aviv’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, official figures showed on Tuesday.

The Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics said that 82,700 people left Israel in 2024, while 23,800 returned to the country.

The bureau did not specify the reason for the departure of the Israelis, but previous Israeli media reports attributed it to rocket fire from Lebanon, the Gaza Strip, and Yemen.

According to the bureau, Israel’s population reached approximately 10.027 million, including 7.7 million Jews, 2.1 million Arabs, and 216,000 foreigners.

Israel’s population growth dropped by 1.1% in 2024, down from 1.6% a year earlier, it added.

The Israeli army has continued a genocidal war on Gaza that has killed over 45,500 victims, mostly women and children, since a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023 despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala