Israel shuts down civil shelter program that housed 125,000 evacuees

The initiative to evacuate residents to hotels prevented the collapse of the hotel industry, and the livelihood grant provided flexibility and welfare to the evacuees, saving the state 7 billion shekels.

By Pesach Benson, TPS

The Emergency Evacuation Center established by Israel’s Tourism Ministry following the October 7 war officially closed Monday, concluding a 21-month civil operation that housed over 125,000 evacuees.

Led by Tourism Minister Haim Katz and set up within days in coordination with the Israel Hotel Association, the center placed nearly 100,000 residents in hotels nationwide.

At its peak, more than 90,000 evacuees received full-board accommodations, with the state paying over NIS 7 billion ($2.1 billion). The program also preserved thousands of hotel jobs during the tourism slump.

The ministry is now drafting a formal emergency evacuation protocol based on lessons learned during the center’s 628 days of operation.

“Without prior preparation, we created an effective infrastructure for evacuating residents in an emergency. I hope we will not need this in the future, but if necessary, the ministry is prepared to respond. The complete mobilization of the Ministry of Tourism employees, the personal and sensitive care of the evacuees, helped strengthen the resilience of the home front in the prolonged campaign that Israel is waging,” said Katz.

The initiative to evacuate residents to hotels prevented the collapse of the hotel industry, and the livelihood grant provided flexibility and welfare to the evacuees, saving the state 7 billion shekels.

Thousands of residents of southern Israel were forced to evacuate because of Gaza rocket fire. Hezbollah rocket attacks on northern Israel forced the evacuation of thousands more.

At least 1,180 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7, 2023.