A likely halt of foreign tourism in Israel due to the conflict with Hamas may have “minimal” impact on the country’s economy, ratings firm S&P Global have stated, although it could cause significant problems in Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon.

According to Reuters, S&P estimated a 10 per cent-30pc drop in Egypt’s tourist revenues would cost the country 4pc-11pc of its foreign exchange reserves if the central bank opted to intervene, while in Lebanon it could deliver a 10pc GDP hit to an already-ravaged economy.

Last year, tourism contributed 26pc of Lebanon’s current account receipts, 21pc in Jordan, 12pc in Egypt, and 3pc for Israel. During the “Arab Spring” in 2011, tourist arrivals dropped by 33pc in Egypt and by 20pc in Jordan, S&P noted.

S&P, which has already put Israel’s AA- rating on a “negative outlook” and downgraded Egypt’s by one notch to B- since the escalation of the conflict almost a month ago, also mapped out a scenario of a 70% drop in tourism revenues.