From the Liveblog of
Sunday, October 15, 2023
Smotrich announces initial financial aid to Gaza border residents
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleCarrie Keller-Lynn is a former political and legal correspondent for The Times of Israel
Israel’s Tax Authority has opened applications for an estimated NIS 80 million of monetary assistance grants for residents of the Gaza border communities who were evacuated or chose to leave, since Hamas launched its mass assault on October 7.
Residents of communities within seven kilometers of the Gaza Strip border are eligible for grants, according to a cabinet decision.
The grants — NIS 1,000 per person and up to NIS 5,000 per family — are intended to assist evacuees with their initial expenses.
The grants are not considered compensation for property damage and will not count against future damage claims, a spokesperson for Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich explains.
“The State of Israel embraces the [Gaza border community] residents and is determined to provide them with any help they need. No citizen will be left alone or riddled with bureaucracy. All of them will be compensated up to the last shekel. This is the least the state can and should do for its citizens who have gone through the worst,” Smotrich adds, in a statement.
The Times of Israel Community.