Three years after October 7: Businesses in the south start anew

Three years after October 7, the state is operating assistance programs for businesses in the south that were affected. The Tekuma Directorate approved 180 investment requests totaling 223 million shekels, and is providing state-guaranteed loans of 200 million shekels to small and medium-sized businesses. The support also includes a tourism budget of 13 million shekels.

Three years after October 7, businesses in southern Israel are in the midst of a rehabilitation process led by the Tekuma Directorate. During 2026, 180 requests from businesses and industrial plants were approved under the rehabilitation track, with investments totaling 223 million shekels and grants of 111 million shekels. Among the factories that received support: Nir Lat in the Gaza Envelope, Be'eri Printing, Tefogen Industries in Sha'ar HaNegev, and factories of Osem, Strauss, and Top Gum. In September 2026, the directorate launched a state-guaranteed loan track worth 200 million shekels for small and medium-sized businesses, with a loan of up to 500,000 shekels or 8% of business turnover. The interest rate is capped at prime plus 1%, with a loan period of up to seven years. Concurrently, a budget of 13 million shekels was allocated to support tourism anchors in the area. The directorate reported a multi-year plan worth approximately 17 billion shekels for the rehabilitation and development of the area, including employment, infrastructure, agriculture, industry, and tourism. The article presents official data but does not include interviews with business owners or an independent assessment of the degree of success on the ground.