Israel’s bombardment of Gaza has led to a steep decline in tourism to Israel in October, official data showed, Reuters reports.

Nearly 99,000 visitors, most designated as tourists, came to Israel in October, versus 369,000 in October 2022 and 485,000 in pre-pandemic October 2019, the Central Bureau of Statistics said.

Some 72.2 per cent of those who came last month arrived for the Jewish festival of Sukkot in the first week of October, which ended on October 7, the day Palestinian fighters crossed from Gaza and raided Israeli towns, resulting in Israel’s consequent bombardment in retaliation.