The Iranian missile that hit the home of Alice Kalev in Holon rocked her apartment but also her world. The 77-year-old, who is suffering from advanced Parkinson's Disease in addition to other health concerns, did not want to be evacuated to a hotel out of town, which would not be able to provide the help she needed.
She is one of more than 1,000 elderly Israelis who had to evacuate from their home during the fighting against Iran. They are all facing particular challenges, including mobility issues, the need for medical care and the dependence upon proximity to family. Thus far, no adequate solutions have been offered or provided to them.
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Holon appartment blocks destroyed in an Iranian missile strike
(Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg / AP)
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Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich visits residential areas destroyed by Iranian missiles
Kalev was thankfully able to find a room in a retirement facility near her destroyed home. Its management said they assumed they would be reimbursed by the government, but it now appears that the Finance Ministry has been refusing to pay for those among the elderly who were taken in by the retirement home and similar facilities.
The distraught Kalev has been allowed to stay for now, but the uncertainty is difficult and adding unnecessary stress. "I don't have strength left in my soul," she told Ynet. "I've been through so many health problems, I don't know what I would do if I were not able to stay here," she said.
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The government's position is surprising considering the precedent that was put in place after the Oct. 7 massacre. Then, elderly people who were evacuated from the south or the north, and who could not receive the care that they needed in hotels or in other accommodations, could move into retirement facilities at the government's expense, and when that arrangement expired their stay was subsidized according to income.
Nahi Katz, who heads a non-profit organization comprising of 200 retirement homes that participated with the government in providing solutions for elderly displaced, said that if the government decides to pay, there are plenty of rooms to house those in need.
The Ministry of Welfare and Social Security responded: "Nursing homes and assisted living in Israel are protected according to Home Front Command guidelines. In cases where senior citizens were evacuated from their homes due to missile strikes, the Ministry of Welfare ensured their housing in nursing homes and hotels, where a trained professional team was waiting for them in order to continue the treatment sequence and prevent withdrawal. The ministry is also preparing to examine additional solutions as the emergency continues and as needed."