A group of 300 of Israel’s most senior economists have called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to divert state funds from non-essential items to areas that deal with damage from its war with Hamas, aid to victims and restoration of the economy, AFP reports.

In a letter to Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the economists — including former Bank of Israel Governor Jacob Frenkel — said expenses as a result of the conflict would cost at least tens of billions of shekels.

Smotrich has said the government would spend as much as needed and this has caused alarm with the central bank and economists, especially since the government may still go ahead with transferring some 9 billion shekels ($2.2bn) to ultra-Orthodox and far-right-wing pro-settler parties as part of an agreement to join the ruling coalition.