AL-QUDS (Dispatches) – Up to 8,300 workers in the field of technology have left the Israeli-occupied territories since the launch of its destructive war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, new data revealed on Wednesday.
A report by the regime’s innovation authority said that 8,300 tech employees departed the occupied territories in the period between October 2023 and July 2024, representing 2.1% of the entire workforce of the technology sector.
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 employees in high-tech in the occupied territories fell to 390,847 in 2024, down by 1.2% from 2023, which affirms the departure of 5,000 tech employees. 
More than half of the workforce in Israeli high-tech companies is currently abroad, with 440,000 employees overseas compared to 400,000 in the occupied territories, according to the report. 
“The high-tech employment report emphasizes 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 taking political measures to allow the return of tech employees to the occupied territories.
Israeli media reports earlier suggested that many Israelis had left the occupied territories following the war on Gaza and its repercussions on the economy and security in Israel.
Israeli media said on Tuesday at least 1,700 millionaires left the Israeli-occupied territories last year due to deteriorating economic conditions in the wake of the Gaza war.
Figures released by Henley & Partners firm, a British-based global leader in immigration services, and New World Wealth, a South-Africa-based data intelligence firm, showed that there were 22,600 millionaires living in Tel Aviv and Herzliya in central parts of the occupied territories in 2024, down from 24,300 in 2023.
“This means no fewer than 1,700 millionaires departed Israel over the past year,” Henley & Partners said.