Israel's Compensation Fund Pays Billions for War Damage

Israel's Tax Authority has released comprehensive data on the operations of the Property Tax Compensation Fund since the outbreak of the war, which began with the Hamas attacks on October 7th. Since that date, 168,469 claims for direct damages, including physical harm to buildings, vehicles, property, and infrastructure, have been filed. The total payout for these claims amounts to approximately 8.29 billion shekels, with the majority, about 6.37 billion shekels, allocated for damage to buildings.

During Operation "Iron Swords," 77,550 direct damage claims were submitted, resulting in payments of around 3.3 billion shekels. Operation "With All My Might" saw fewer claims, 54,140, but a higher average payout of approximately 4.03 billion shekels, attributed to more severe damage at locations like Soroka Hospital and the Weizmann Institute, and differences in projectile trajectories compared to Gaza. Operation "Roaring Lion" received 36,779 claims, with payouts totaling about 962 million shekels. Direct compensation also covered lost rental income and, in "Roaring Lion," payments to hotels housing evacuees.

Major centers for direct damage claims included Tel Aviv with 62,797 claims across the three operations, and Ashkelon with 61,085. Acre recorded 27,308 claims, and Tiberias 8,866. Kiryat Shmona filed 6,490 claims, almost entirely during "Iron Swords."

In parallel, the fund disbursed approximately 30.34 billion shekels for indirect damages, which represent economic harm due to the security situation. A total of 1,006,878 indirect damage claims were filed. Currently, 40,645 claims remain under review, predominantly from "Roaring Lion" (35,509 claims), but also from "With All My Might" (1,584) and "Iron Swords" (3,552).

The nationwide track for indirect damages was the largest, with payments of about 18.62 billion shekels. "Green" tracks for businesses in particularly affected areas and sectors disbursed around 6.04 billion shekels. The "Red" track, for businesses in Gaza border communities and the northern confrontation line, paid out approximately 5.68 billion shekels, including advances. Businesses in the northern border region received about 4.09 billion shekels for indirect damage, and those in the Gaza envelope received about 2.31 billion shekels. These figures exclude compensation paid to reservists.