Israel plans to bring in 70,000 foreign workers from China, India and other countries to shore up its construction sector, which has been hit by a Hamas attack on October 7, an Israeli financial daily reported on Monday, Reuters reported.

In the coming days, the government should approve a plan to increase the quota of foreign workers to 70,000 from the current 50,000, Yehuda Morgenstern, director general of the Ministry of Construction and Housing and Communal Services, told Calcalist.

That quota was already increased in November to 50,000 from 30,000 to help the housing sector, which has faced a labor crisis as some 80,000 Palestinian construction workers were denied access to Israeli territory after an attack by the radical Palestinian movement Hamas.

According to Morgenstern, about 20 thousand foreign workers will be brought to Israel without bilateral agreements with the countries of origin. Workers will arrive from China, India, Sri Lanka and Moldova, with about 10,000 expected in the first quarter of the year, an Israeli official said.

He added that the arrival of additional foreign workers would benefit the housing sector, even as the 80,000 Palestinian workers currently absent return to work as the time needed to build housing continues to increase.

That pace has now increased to 34 months for construction, up from 30 in 2021 and 27 in 2014.

The construction ministry also recommended accepting about 10,000 Palestinians for infrastructure projects outside Israeli cities and in coordination with mayors, Morgenstern said.