After the Hamas assault on Israel on October 7, tens of thousands of Israelis were evacuated from towns around Israel’s borders with Lebanon and Gaza. At the onset of the war, the Israeli tourism Ministry helped 125,000 displaced residents find temporary housing. Under the leadership of tourism Minister Haim Katz, the ministry secured 50,000 hotel rooms for displaced residents and set up a daily subsistence allowance program.
The tourism Ministry paid hotels 3.2 billion shekels ($850 million US dollars) and allocated 2 billion shekels for 100,000 displaced residents through Israel’s National Insurance Institute.
More than six months since the outbreak of the war, approximately 7,000 evacuees are still living in hotels. Around 50,000 have returned home, having been given a special grant from the tourism Ministry.
The Media Line spoke to the tourism Ministry and the hotels that hosted evacuees about the experience of housing evacuees, the war’s impact on the tourism…