A report published by the Hebrew newspaper Calcalist on Monday revealed that the cost of reserve benefits paid by the Israeli insurance agency during the three years of war amounted to 58 billion shekels (approximately 16 billion dollars). The cost of arrangements for military service during the three main combat rounds was 4.2 billion shekels. More than 9 billion shekels were paid to victims of hostile actions, the families of the victims, and abductees and their families, in addition to another 8 billion shekels paid to displaced settlers as part of housing subsidies, return to work, and unemployment benefits. This is according to data published by the insurance institution ahead of the anniversary of October 7.
The report, which was reviewed by the "Video News Agency," stated that since October 7, the National Insurance Institute has been providing services to 87,286 victims of hostile acts. Among them, 43,004 settlers submitted requests to determine their level of disability. Disability has already been determined for 40,407 of them, while the remaining ones are undergoing evaluation by medical committees. Among those whose disabilities have been determined, 34,878 were recognized due to a psychological injury, 3,171 due to a physical injury, and 2,355 due to a combination of physical and psychological injuries.
The insurance institution paid 58 billion shekels as reserve benefits during the three years of war. Due to the long duration of reserve service, which sometimes extended for several months each year, a system was introduced for the first time to pay benefits monthly rather than only at the end of the service.
The cost of arrangements for the three main combat rounds was 4.2 billion shekels. The cost of arrangements during the Gaza War was 2.5 billion shekels to cover expenses for 210,000 unemployed; in the first war with Iran, Operation "Year of Klavi," it amounted to about half a billion shekels to cover expenses for about 100,000 unemployed; and in Operation "Lion's Roar," it amounted to 1.7 billion shekels, covering expenses for 196,000 unemployed. It was estimated that about 100,000 workers would take unpaid leave during Operation "Year of Klavi." It is unclear what portion of the payments was funded from insurance reserves and what portion was transferred from the state budget.
During the three years of war, the National Insurance Institute paid more than 9 billion shekels to victims of hostile acts, the families of victims, and abductees and their families, through grants and deferrals on salaries. According to the institute's estimates, the total amounts paid annually were: 800 million shekels in 2023, 2 billion shekels in 2024, 3.5 billion shekels in 2025, and at least 3 billion shekels in 2026.
The National Insurance Institute paid 662 million shekels in subsidies to 84,000 settlers affected by the events of October 7. This includes about 75,000 citizens who lived or were present in the surrounding settlements, about 1,000 others who were in combat areas, about 4,000 relatives of the deceased and abductees, and about 3,000 security personnel who were in combat areas outside the scope of their duties. The first months of the war saw a sharp increase in the number recognized as victims of hostile acts.
So far, the National Insurance Institute has funded rehabilitation expenses totaling over 750 million shekels, including vocational or academic studies, rehabilitation fees during the study period, travel and rental expenses, support services, and accessibility facilitation, among others.
The social insurance institution paid more than 5 billion shekels as housing grants to about 190,000 displaced settlers who chose not to stay in hotels. About 131,000 displaced individuals from the south received housing grants totaling approximately 1.3 billion shekels, while about 63,000 displaced individuals from the north received grants totaling about 3.8 billion shekels. Thus, the total expenditure on housing for the displaced amounts to billions of shekels.
In addition, return grants of 1.42 billion shekels were paid to about 110,000 settlers, with return grants of 700 million shekels to about 55,000 in the south, and return grants of 720 million shekels to about 55,000 settlers in the north. Unemployment assistance grants for the displaced were transferred to about 7,500 settlers at a cost of 272 million shekels. In the south, the grants were paid to about 1,500 people at a cost of 22 million shekels, and in the north, to about 6,000 people at a cost of approximately 250 million shekels.
Return-to-work incentives were also paid to those who returned to work with their employers during the war. These grants were paid to about 74,000 settlers in the north and south, at a total cost of 1.2 billion shekels.