Residents evacuated from homes damaged by missile strikes during Operation Rising Lion are now being asked to leave the hotels where they have been temporarily housed.
While some evacuees have returned to properties that sustained only minor damage, others—whose homes require long-term repairs—are being urged to seek alternative housing solutions. These include staying with relatives or renting apartments, though rising rental prices in missile-affected areas have made this especially challenging.
Evacuees asked to vacate hotels
In cases where homes suffered only limited damage, the Property Tax Authority will no longer fund extended hotel stays. Instead, residents are expected to carry out repairs using the compensation amounts allocated to them. Additionally, several hotels have begun asking evacuees to leave due to prior contractual commitments made before the war, including bookings from international sports delegations and Israeli vacationers.
At the Kfar Maccabiah Hotel in Ramat Gan, where more than 400 evacuees were housed following the first missile strike on the city, roughly half have already left—some returning to their homes and others securing new accommodations.
Hotel management has informed the remaining 200 evacuees that they will need to vacate by early next week. Alternative hotels may be provided, but evacuees are encouraged to make independent housing arrangements where possible.
“We acted quickly on Friday night after the first missile hit Ramat Gan and received hundreds of evacuated families, including many children,” hotel representatives said. “However, we are now required to fulfill prior commitments and prepare the rooms for guests arriving from both Israel and abroad.”
It remains unclear where long-term evacuees—those facing months or even years away from their homes—will be relocated. Municipalities may step in to assist and coordinate with the Property Tax Authority to approve continued government funding for those who remain eligible. Hotel stays are covered by the state for a period determined by the authority’s assessment teams.