At Ashkelon's municipal building, the State Comptroller met with the city's mayor, municipal officials, and business owners. They discussed the city's complex challenges, which have included over 1,000 missile strikes, casualties, injuries, along with significant damage to property and urban infrastructure. During the conversation, it became evident that the city's inadequate defense measures put tens of thousands of its residents at risk. Business owners also emphasized the severe financial impact on their businesses, including challenges with securing loans and the delay in government compensation mechanisms for damages.
The State Comptroller and officials from the state comptroller office also heard from municipal employees and volunteers who provide essential food items and hot meals to thousands of residents daily, often risking their lives.
Furthermore, the state of the city's education system for its 35,000 students was presented. These students are currently returning to remote learning, and only the upper grades are returning to physical classrooms.
Subsequently, the State Comptroller toured homes in Ashkelon that had been impacted by missile strikes and witnessed the extent of the damage.
State Comptroller Matanyahu Engelman: "Ministers and all government agencies must immediately implement the decisions that have already been made to support Ashkelon and all communities in conflict areas in the South and North. I intend to meet with the appointed coordinator, Meir Shpigel, to bring to his attention all the significant discrepancies I have observed during my tours in the North and South and my meetings with evacuees since the outbreak of the war.
The fact that there was no presence of any government ministry in Ashkelon's municipal building, a city of 170,000 residents, is unacceptable. We are now entering the third week of the war, and the relief effort is faltering. Many problems remain unresolved. This needs to change immediately. All government officials, including ministers, directors-general, and all civil servants, must urgently address the need for immediate assistance in the affected areas. "
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