Israel and COVID-19

As of June 10, 2020, Israel reported 299 deaths and 18,268 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The state leveraged its advanced technology and healthcare sectors to manage the outbreak, though it faced criticism for employing counter-terrorism surveillance tools and intelligence services to track infections and procure medical equipment. The pandemic occurred during a severe political crisis, leading to the formation of a unity government. The response also highlighted disparities affecting Israeli Arabs, ultra-orthodox communities, and Palestinians in the Occupied Territories.

• Israel's healthcare and economic infrastructure provided a strong foundation for its pandemic response, with the country ranking seventh out of 55 in the Bloomberg Health-Care Efficiency Index. The state utilized its technology sector to develop AI-based triage platforms and virtual care managers.
• The pandemic's severity in Israel was lower than in other MENA countries like Iran and Turkey. As of June 10, 2020, Israel had a death rate of 3.4 per 100,000 and an infection rate of 211 per 100,000, with 2.99 hospital beds per 1,000 people.
• The Israeli government implemented highly contested security measures, including the use of Shin Bet's mass cell phone surveillance system to track infected individuals. By the end of May 2020, 81,383 isolation orders were issued based on this contact tracing.
• Israel's intelligence agency, Mossad, was significantly involved in the global effort to acquire medical supplies, specifically ventilators, for the national health services.
• The COVID-19 crisis acted as a catalyst for ending a prolonged political deadlock, resulting in a unity government agreement between Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz.
• The pandemic exposed and exacerbated existing societal inequalities, particularly regarding healthcare access for Israeli Arabs and the impact of lockdowns on Palestinians in the Occupied Territories.
• The government's financial rescue package, expanded on May 9 to 100 billion NIS (approximately $28.5 billion), represented about 5.5% of GDP, which critics argued was lower than packages in other developed nations like the UK, France, or Germany.

APA

Tjønn, M. H., & Martins, B. O. (2020). Israel and COVID-19. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/4ca6cb85-c0a5-4a09-a909-a6b242a709c9/Martins and Tjonn - Israel and COVID-19 MidEast 06-2020.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Tjønn, Mathias Hatleskog, and Bruno Oliveira Martins. Israel and COVID-19. Peace Research Institute Oslo, 2020. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/4ca6cb85-c0a5-4a09-a909-a6b242a709c9/Martins and Tjonn - Israel and COVID-19 MidEast 06-2020.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Tjønn |first1=Mathias Hatleskog |last2=Martins |first2=Bruno Oliveira |title=Israel and COVID-19 |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |date=June 2020 |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/4ca6cb85-c0a5-4a09-a909-a6b242a709c9/Martins and Tjonn - Israel and COVID-19 MidEast 06-2020.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{tjnn2020israel, author = {Tjønn, Mathias Hatleskog and Martins, Bruno Oliveira}, title = {{Israel and COVID-19}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, year = {2020}, month = jun, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/4ca6cb85-c0a5-4a09-a909-a6b242a709c9/Martins and Tjonn - Israel and COVID-19 MidEast 06-2020.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }