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Israel to compensate Gaza border towns after ‘Shield and Arrow’

It was not immediately clear how much money would be allocated in the aftermath of May's war.

Rockets are fired from Gaza towards Israel, in the southern Gaza Strip, on May 10, 2023. Photo by Atia Mohammed/Flash90.
Rockets are fired from Gaza towards Israel, in the southern Gaza Strip, on May 10, 2023. Photo by Atia Mohammed/Flash90.

Israeli Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich signed an order on Monday to provide compensation to communities along the Gaza Strip border that incurred damages during last month’s “Operation Shield and Arrow” war.

“The resilience of the civilian home front allows the government to act decisively against terrorism, and this is our time to stand behind it with economic support,” said Smotrich.

“The compensation will be approved as soon as possible by the Knesset Finance Committee and will thereafter take effect,” he added.

Smotrich did not specify how much money would be allocated to which locations.

Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group reached a ceasefire deal on May 13 to end five days of fighting.

During the conflict, PIJ fired more than 1,250 rockets at Israel, to which the IDF responded by striking nearly 400 terrorist assets in Gaza.

Inga Avramyan, 80, was the only Israeli fatality, dying when a rocket struck her four-story apartment house in Rehovot, 12 miles south of Tel Aviv.

In April, the Israeli Cabinet approved the allocation of 1.6 billion shekels ($440 million) to strengthen the western Negev city of Sderot, which is located less than a mile from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

During a rare Cabinet meeting convened outside of Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu touted his previous governments’ accomplishments in developing the city and its surroundings, and vowed to do more to support communities constantly targeted by Palestinian rocket fire.

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