The number of tourists visiting Israel rose in 2023 compared with 2022, although it plunged in October after the Israeli bombardment of Gaza broke out and remained low for the rest of the year, according to the Israeli tourism ministry.

Reuters reports that up until October, the tourism industry was recovering from the collapse caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, but after the October 7 attack by Hamas fighters on southern Israel, the number of foreign visitors dropped suddenly.

Overall in 2023, three million tourists entered Israel, up from 2.7m in 2022.

December was the worst month of the year with just 52,800 tourists, while the number was above 300,000 per month for several months earlier in the year.