Israel plans to bring in around 70,000 foreign workers from China, India and elsewhere to boost its construction sector, which has been largely frozen since October 7, a newspaper reported, citing a government official, according to Reuters.

Yehuda Morgenstern, director general of the Construction and Housing Ministry, told the Calcalist financial daily that a plan to increase the quota of foreign construction workers to 70,000 from 50,000 would be approved by the government in the coming days.

The quota in November was boosted to 50,000 from 30,000 to help the housing sector, which is suffering from labour shortages since around 80,000 Palestinian construction workers were barred from entering Israel in the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel.

About 20,000 foreign workers, Morgenstern said, would be brought in without bilateral agreements with homeland countries. In all, workers will come from China, India, Sri Lanka and Moldova, he said, with around 10,000 expected to arrive in the first quarter.