Bureaucratic delays, a lack of coordination, and other issues have hamstrung efforts to rehabilitate southern Israel following the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack, the state comptroller said in a new report published Tuesday.

The analysis, covering January 2024 to August 2025, criticized officials for failing to allocate earmarked funds meant to bolster the Western Negev, and slammed the government for failing to create or implement a support system for those attempting to start lives outside the Gaza border region following the traumatic assault there.

Some 80,000 people were forced from their homes by the devastating Hamas-led invasion, in which some 1,200 people were massacred, 251 were kidnapped and whole swaths of communities destroyed.

More than 90 percent of those who left have returned home, but an unspecified number who have no intention of returning have fallen through the cracks, according to the report.

It is “unacceptable that a systematic, alternative government solution has yet to be formulated for residents who are unable to return to their homes,” the report found.

On the plus side, the report notes the “sense of public mission” and professional commitment of those working in the Tekuma Directorate, which the state established to oversee the massive rehabilitation effort.

But the report criticized the state for delaying the implementation of a five-year rehabilitation plan by 18 months while it deliberated on the geographical boundaries for billions of shekels in budget allocation.

This “hindered rehabilitation efforts and the advancement of regional development projects, including high-quality infrastructure, public services, and the creation of new employment sources,” the state comptroller said.

The ombudsman specifically........

© The Times of Israel