Up to 8,300 workers in the field of technology have left Israel since the launch of its destructive war on Gaza in October 2023, new data revealed.
A report by the Israel Innovation Authority said on Wednesday that 8,300 tech employees departed the country between October 2023 and July 2024, representing 2.1 percent of the entire workforce of the technology sector in Israel.
According to the report, the Israeli high-tech industry experienced a decline in the number of employees, with about 5,000 employees leaving the industry in 2024, marking the first time in at least a decade.
Figures showed that the overall number of high-tech employees in Israel fell to 390,847 in 2024, down by 1.2 percent from 2023, which affirms the departure of 5,000 tech employees.
The Islamic University of Gaza had some 17,000 students before the war, studying everything from medicine and chemistry to literature and commerce.
More than half of the workforce in Israeli high-tech companies is currently abroad, with 440,000 employees overseas compared to 400,000 in Israel, according to the report.
"The high-tech employment report emphasises the need for continued focused investment in the industry, which is the main growth engine of the Israeli economy," said Dror Bin, Israel Innovation Authority CEO.
He called for political measures to allow the return of tech employees to Israel.
Israeli media reports earlier suggested that many Israelis had left the country following the Israeli war on Gaza and its repercussions on the economy and security in Israel.
