By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

Iran has targeted Tel Aviv and Haifa since Friday with hundreds of missiles and drones, destroying entire buildings.

Iran’s attacks on Israel since Friday have reportedly resulted in damages estimated at around 1 billion shekels ($277 million), with the Israeli Tax Authority already having received 9,900 claims.

“To date, the Compensation Fund call centers have received 9,900 claims since the beginning of the operation,” the Tax Authority said in a statement on Monday.

“Of these, 8,549 claims were for structural damage, 668 for vehicle damage, and 683 for damage to contents and other property,” it added.

🇮🇱 Data from the Israel Tax Authority: damage from the Iranian attack over the past three days has exceeded 1 billion shekels pic.twitter.com/nuV0R8eBBF

— Sprinter Observer (@SprinterObserve) June 16, 2025

A total of 2,695 individuals have been evacuated from their homes, the statement noted.

Citing Israel’s Channel 12, Aljazeera Arabic reported on Monday, that the Israeli Tax Authority Director Shai Aharonovitch revealed that the damages resulting from the Iranian attack during the first two days are estimated at approximately 1 billion shekels ($277 million), with 12,000 compensation claims expected.

Israelis are heard crying and screaming in fear as Iranian ballistic missile hits their building. pic.twitter.com/4dcLUya9D8

— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) June 16, 2025

Military Censorship

Despite the military censorship imposed by the Israeli authorities on the media to prevent the exposure of the damage, images showed massive destruction in central Israel, particularly Tel Aviv, as a result of Iranian missiles and drones, the report noted.

The Ramat Gan Municipality in central Israel, according to the report, said that the missiles fired by Iran into the area caused “unimaginable destruction,” with dozens of buildings damaged and residents losing their homes.

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Iran has since Friday targeted Tel Aviv and Haifa with hundreds of missiles and drones, destroying entire buildings, including the Weizmann Institute for Research, as well as oil pipelines and facilities in Haifa.

$725 Million Per Day

Meanwhile, the Israeli Ynet news platform reported that the war with Iran is costing Israel about 2.75 billion shekels — roughly $725 million — per day “in direct military expenses alone.”

The report cited Brig. Gen. (res.) Re’em Aminach, a former financial adviser to the Israeli army chief of staff, as saying that “the initial two days of fighting amounted to approximately 5.5 billion shekels ($1.45 billion), split evenly between offensive and defensive operations.”

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The estimate “excludes damage to civilian property and broader economic fallout,” the report noted.

Aminach said offensive costs included Israel’s initial strike on Iran, estimated at around 2.25 billion shekels ($593 million) “and covered flight hours and munitions.”

The remaining amount “went toward defense measures such as interceptor use and reserve mobilization,” the report said.

Aminach noted that these were only “direct costs” and that the indirect costs which included impact on gross domestic product “cannot be measured at this stage.”

Iran’s Warning

The escalation between Israel and Iran began at dawn on Friday when Israel, with tacit support from the United States, launched ‘Operation Rising Lion’, a large-scale aerial assault on Iranian nuclear facilities, missile bases, and key personnel.

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That evening, Iran responded with ‘True Promise 3’, launching dozens of ballistic missiles and drones at Israeli cities, killing at least 13 and injuring hundreds, according to Israeli sources.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned on Sunday that if Israeli attacks continue, Iran’s response would become “more decisive and severe.” He stated that the Iranian military had so far responded “forcefully and appropriately.”

(PC, AJA)