More than 1,000 Tel Aviv homes left uninhabitable by Iran war: Mayor

More than 1,000 homes in Tel Aviv have been left uninhabitable by the recent war with Iran, the city’s mayor said Saturday.

Israeli Channel 12 quoted Ron Huldai, who said that “more than 1,000 apartments in Tel Aviv are no longer fit for living” because of damage caused by Iranian missiles and drones.

During the US-Israeli war on Iran, which began Feb. 28, Tehran launched repeated missile and drone attacks on major Israeli cities in response to large-scale strikes on Iranian territory.

Some missiles and shrapnel from interception attempts struck buildings in Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan and Bnei Brak, killing and injuring dozens, and causing extensive damage to homes, vehicles and infrastructure.

Channel 12 reported earlier this week that Israeli officials estimate the cost of 40 days of war with Iran and Lebanon at around $17.5 billion.

The figure does not include reconstruction costs or losses from the partial shutdown of the Israeli economy during the fighting.

According to Israeli media, nearly 30,000 Israelis have filed claims with the Israeli Tax Authority’s compensation fund for direct property damage, including 18,408 claims related to buildings, 2,594 to equipment and 6,617 to vehicles.

The Israeli economic website, Calcalist, reported last week that the 12-day war against Iran last June cost around 3 billion shekels ($1 billion) in compensation for businesses.

The Finance Ministry estimates that compensation costs from the war fought between Feb. 28 and April 8 will reach 6.5 billion shekels.

The ceasefire took effect April 8 after talks between the US and Iran, hosted in the Pakistani capital, failed to produce a final agreement to end the war.

*Writing by Tarek Chouiref