Iranian missile barrage caused NIS 150m to NIS 200m in damage to property
Since the October 1 attack, about 2,500 compensation claims have been submitted for damage to buildings, vehicles, and contents, according to Israel Tax Authority data
Sharon Wrobel is a tech reporter for The Times of Israel
Iran’s ballistic missile attack on Israel on October 1 caused an estimated NIS 150 million to NIS 200 million ($40 million to $53 million) in damage to private property, according to a preliminary assessment by the Israel Tax Authority.
The massive barrage launched by Iran against Israel sent almost 10 million people into bomb shelters as projectiles and interceptors exploded in the skies above. In its wake, about 2,500 damage claims were submitted to the property tax department, of which about 2,200 reported damage to buildings, and the remainder to vehicles and contents, according to initial data by the Israel Tax Authority.
In contrast to Iran’s missile attack on April 13 — which involved 36 cruise missiles, 185 drones and around 120 ballistic missiles, most of which were intercepted — the latest attack consisted exclusively of about 200 ballistic missiles. Approximately 20 of them were intercepted or thwarted before entering Israel’s airspace by US, British and Jordanian air forces, leaving around 180 missiles that were either intercepted or impacted within Israeli territory.
One of the missiles impacted a school in Gadera, in central Israel, with photos and videos from the scene showing severe damage to the school building. An additional strike severely hit a restaurant in the high-end “Sea and Sun” complex in northern Tel Aviv, causing some damage to its luxury apartments and shops.
In the city of Hod Hasharon, a suburb of Tel Aviv, many homes were damaged by the missile attack, from shock waves and shrapnel. According to the municipality, a number of homes were seriously damaged and dozens more suffered light damage in the attack, with around 100 homes suffering some damage, including from shrapnel and the shock set off by falling missile fragments.
The Israeli military acknowledged that some of its airbases were hit, mainly damaging office buildings and other maintenance areas.
Iran said it fired the missiles into Israel in response to attacks that killed the leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas, and senior officers in the Iranian military. It mentioned Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Revolutionary Guard Gen. Abbas Nilforoushan, both killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut.
The attack came almost a year after the Iran-backed terror group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, triggering war in Gaza.
The fighting has also drawn in Iran’s Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, which began firing thousands of rockets at Israel starting October 8, forcing the government to evacuate thousands of residents from near the border.
Since October 7, 2023, a total of 49,500 claims for damage to property have been submitted to the property tax department, out of which about 30,000 were registered in the south of the country, about 8,000 in the north, and about 11,500 in the center.
Over the past year, a total of NIS 1.5 billion in compensation for damage to property has been paid out, according to data by the Israeli Tax Authority. It estimates that damage not yet claimed, mainly in the north of the country where evacuated residents have not returned home, will amount to about about NIS 1 billion in compensation.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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