Israel unveils $1 billion plan to bring northern Israelis home in March

The Israeli Finance Ministry unveiled a $934 million (NIS 3.4 billion) compensation plan for bringing displaced northern Israelis back to their homes in March. At least 70,000 Israelis have been displaced from their homes since the Iranian-backed Lebanese terror group Hezbollah launched an unprovoked attack on northern Israel on Oct. 8, 2023.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich emphasized that security for its citizens is a top priority for the State of Israel. 

“The key to returning home is security and we are not going to compromise on this matter,” Smotrich told media representatives during a press conference in Jerusalem on Sunday. “Residents of the north are returning to a different security reality, and we will make sure that quiet is maintained for years.”

The plan has earmarked NIS 25,360 (around $7,000) compensation for each returning adult and NIS 12,680 (approximately $3,500) for each child who returns to their northern home communities. 

In September, the Israeli Security Cabinet declared the return of displaced northern Israelis as an official war goal.

“The Security Cabinet has updated the objectives of the war to include the following: Returning the residents of the north securely to their homes. Israel will continue to act to implement this objective,” the Prime Minister’s Office stated at the time. 

Israel and Hezbollah signed a ceasefire deal in late November 2024. However, the majority of northern Israelis have not returned home yet, and many are concerned it is just a matter of time before Hezbollah resumes its attacks on northern Israeli communities.

In addition, many northern Israeli homes have been damaged by Hezbollah rockets and missiles. The Israeli government consequently also offered an additional grant of NIS 10,000 (around $2,750) per adult and NIS 5,000 ($1,380) per child, intended to cover indirect property damage incurred during the prolonged displacement.

Moshe Davidovich, the head of the Mateh Asher Regional Council in Western Galilee, stated that the true significance of the plan lay in its ambition to resettle northern Israelis in their abandoned home communities.

“The message for me is not just the grants, but that there is an action plan to return our residents home,” Davidovich stated. “The return of residents to a normal life, rehabilitation, and growth of the Galilee and border communities are of utmost importance to us."

“The Israeli government should put this before its eyes as a national mission with a focus on education, welfare, business, agriculture, and tourism to return the north to growth,” he urged. 

However, the return of northern Israeli residents to their homes depends on neutralizing the Hezbollah threat in neighboring Lebanon.

The current ceasefire stipulates that Israeli forces should gradually withdraw from southern Lebanon, to be replaced by the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the UNIFIL peacekeeping forces.

Furthermore, the ceasefire demands that Hezbollah relocate its forces north of the Litani River, away from the border between Lebanon and Israel.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz recently warned: "If Hezbollah does not withdraw beyond the Litani, there will be no agreement – and we will act forcefully."