Israel sells $511 mln in weekly bond sale amid Gaza war

JERUSALEM, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Israeli raised 2 billion shekels ($511 million) in its weekly bond issue that had demand of nearly six times the total amount, the Finance Ministry said on Monday.

The offering that included three nominal shekel bond series and two CPI-linked series was bought by local and foreign players such as Bank Leumi, Bank Hapoalim, Discount Bank, Mizrahi Tefahot Bank, First International Bank, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and Citibank, the ministry said.

"The ability to raise debt and finance the government's activities, even in times of emergency, in significant volumes and with a particularly high coverage ratio, is evidence of market confidence in Israel," the ministry said.

The ministry added that it is ready to access local and international capital markets and is prepared to provide a financial response to the government's needs during the current war with Palestinian militants in Gaza by using various tools.

($1 = 3.9159 shekels) (Reporting by Steven Scheer, Editing by Ari Rabinovitch)