Streaks of light are seen as Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system intercept rockets launched from the Gaza Strip towards Israel, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel August 5, 2022. Photo: Reuters/Amir Cohen

A package to assist and compensate Israelis living near the Gaza Strip who were impacted by recent rocket fire was submitted for approval to the Israeli cabinet on Sunday.

The proposal include assistance for local authorities “via budgeting, prioritizing and advancing payments due to the direct costs they were compelled to bear during the operation,” he added.

It also encompasses emergency preparedness assistance, according to the finance minister, including “via reinforcing emergency communications systems, solutions for electricity during emergencies, equipping and completing operations centers, and additional portable emergency shelters.”

The package was formulated following consultation with local authorities in communities neighboring Gaza, and put forward by Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman.

It comes on the heels of a recent escalation between Israeli forces and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which saw the Gaza-based terrorist group fire more than 1,100 rockets and mortars at Israel over the course of the fighting on August 5 to August 7, according to the Israeli military. While more than 200 are believed to have fallen short inside the Gaza Strip, most crossed into Israel.

Rockets that threatened populated areas were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system with a 96 percent success rate, the military said. Nonetheless, some 200,000 residents in communities near Gaza, including Ashkelon, Sderot, Nahal Oz, and Nir Am, had to flee to fortified shelters dozens of times over two and a half days, with some receiving only a 15-second warning. In one instance, a family in Sderot managed to evacuate their home only seconds before it was directly struck by a rocket.

Restrictions were also placed on the area in the days preceding the fighting, as the Israeli military braced for a possible attack by Palestinians Islamic Jihad following the arrest of two of its members.

“The residents of the south and the area adjacent to the Gaza Strip should know that we are looking out for them,” Liberman said. “All those who were hurt are entitled to assistance.”