MARRAKECH, Morocco World Bank President Ajay Banga said on Thursday that the Israel-Gaza conflict is an unnecessary global economic shock that will make it harder for central banks to achieve soft landings in many economies if it spreads.

"It's a humanitarian tragedy and it's an economic shock we don't need," Banga told Reuters on the sidelines of the World Bank-International Monetary Fund annual meetings in Washington.

Central banks were "beginning to feel a little more confident that there was an opportunity for a soft landing, and this kind of just makes it harder", Banga said.

(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Alison Williams)