Cost of damages from Iran war forecast at double October 7 and ensuing attacks
In numbers released ahead of ceasefire announcement, Tax Authority official predicts claims will likely reach NIS 5 billion as Israel picks up pieces from powerful missile strikes
Zev Stub is the Times of Israel's Diaspora Affairs correspondent.
The cost of property damages from Iranian missile and drone attacks on Israel over the past 12 days is estimated to be around double the sum of claims stemming from the October 7 attack and all 615 days since, the head of the Tax Authority’s compensation department said Monday.
The likely NIS 5 billion ($1.47 billion) price tag calculated by Amir Dahan underlined the destructive power of the few Iranian missiles to make it through Israel’s air defense shield, carrying massive warheads that reduced whole apartment buildings to rubble and sent out blast waves that shattered windows and caused other damage over a wide area.
“These are figures we have never seen for direct property damage,” Dahan told the Knesset Finance Committee on Monday.
According to Dahan, damage claims resulting from ballistic missile attacks from Iran had already reached NIS 4.5 billion ($1.32 billion) as of Monday and were expected to climb by another NIS 500 million. By comparison, Israeli property owners had incurred some NIS 2.5 billion ($735 million) in damage resulting from the October 7 attack and since, including months of heavy fighting in the north.
Some 40,000 property claims over the war have already been filed, a figure that Dahan predicted would likely reach 50,000 or more, including claims from factories still assessing the extent of damage. It was not clear if the forecast was based on a longer timeline for the war, which appeared to end abruptly Tuesday morning following a US-brokered ceasefire.
Despite the higher cost, the number was less than the 70,000 claims filed for damages between October 7, 2023, and June 12, 2025, including by those harmed by attacks from Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.
According to Israeli figures, Iran fired over 550 ballistic missiles at Israel during the war, though only 31 ballistic missile impacts were reported in populated areas. A single drone also hit a home in Beit She’an, out of around 1,000 launched by Tehran. Shrapnel from missiles and interceptors also caused scattered damage.
Direct hits from Iran on the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot and the Bazan oil refinery in Haifa were particularly destructive, Dahan said, without providing specific values.
Of 38,700 claims filed before the rocket barrage Tuesday morning, which destroyed a building in Beersheba and killed four people, some 31,000 claims were made for damage to buildings, 3,700 for vehicle damage, and 4,000 for other property, including furniture and appliances, according to the Tax Authority.
These included some 25,000 claims made in Tel Aviv, 10,800 in Ashkelon, 2,600 in Haifa and Acre, and 94 in Jerusalem, among other districts, according to incomplete Tax Authority data.
For those evacuated from homes damaged by rockets, about 11,000 people have been placed in hotels, and an estimated 4,000 have gone to live with friends and relatives, according to the Federation of Local Authorities.
Owners of properties rendered unusable due to damage from the war will not be liable for property taxes, the Interior Ministry ruled last week.
Israel’s funds for property reparations stood at NIS 9 billion ($2.64 billion) before the start of Israel’s preemptive attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities on June 13, Dahan said. It currently has claims on the table of NIS 6 billion ($1.76 billion) from the Iran attack, including NIS 1.5 billion ($440 million) in outstanding claims from October 7 and ensuing fighting.
The Tax Authority has 130 teams of appraisers charged with visiting every site filing a claim, ideally on the day the claim is filed, Dahan said. A new computerized system will allow claimants to upload photos of their damages to receive up to NIS 30,000 ($8,815) within 72 hours, he noted.
Regarding damages to the contents of a home, Israeli law provides that owners can be compensated up to a certain value for different objects. For example, families can be compensated up to NIS 25,187 ($7,400) for damaged furniture and up to NIS 30,914 ($9,084) for electronics and appliances. The Tax Authority offers insurance for higher payouts, at a premium of 0.3 percent of the additional value.
While only 600 Israelis had signed up for this additional coverage before the war, more than 50,000 have joined since the beginning of the Rising Lion operation, according to a report in the Hebrew daily Calcalist.
Compensation for businesses
Economic damage from the war has extended far beyond missile damage, with businesses and schools closed due to restrictions on gatherings.
On Monday, Israel’s Finance Ministry revealed a plan to compensate those affected financially, including grants for businesses and furloughed workers.
Businesses bringing in less than NIS 300,000 ($86,000) a year will be eligible for a fixed business continuity grant “depending on the level of damage to the business,” while businesses earning NIS 300,000 to NIS 400 million will be eligible for the reimbursement of 7%-22% of their expenses, “depending on the rate of damage to business turnover, as well as a refund of 75% of salary expenses in relation to the level of damage.”
Businesses with an annual turnover of NIS 300,000 to NIS 100 million ($28 million) will have compensation capped at NIS 600,000 ($172,000).
Employees placed on unpaid leave due to the cessation of economic activity during the war will receive payments from the National Insurance Institute and will not be forced to use any of their accrued vacation days.
Sam Sokol contributed to this report.
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