Government approves sweeping overhaul of wounded veterans’ rehab system

Adopting pubic health committee’s recommendations, new plan looks to increase staffing, funding and independence for system after Defense Ministry warned it could ‘collapse’

By and Stav Levaton

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Today, 2:04 pm

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The government announced Thursday that it approved overnight a sweeping overhaul of the rehabilitation system for wounded IDF soldiers and security personnel, adopting recommendations made by a public committee last month amid warnings that the existing system could collapse under the growing number of casualties since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught.

The reform will transform the Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Department into a national authority with expanded staffing, funding and independence, while cutting red tape, introducing artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies, and expanding rehabilitation and mental health services.

Every wounded veteran will be assigned a dedicated case manager to coordinate treatment and benefits, eligibility procedures will be streamlined, family members will receive expanded psychological support, and a new automated system will proactively update veterans’ benefits.

“The plan we approved will provide them with a broad and comprehensive support system,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said of the overhaul.

“Our wounded soldiers went into battle to defend the country, and we are fighting for them and for their rehabilitation,” he said. “This is not only our moral duty – it is our national duty.”

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“Today’s government decision… fundamentally changes the way the State of Israel treats its wounded,” said Defense Minister Israel Katz.

“Our responsibility now is to implement these decisions in full,” he added.

The decision came after the Defense Ministry warned earlier this month that its rehabilitation system was struggling to cope and could “collapse” with the unprecedented influx of casualties from the war.

According to the ministry, some 26,200 wounded IDF soldiers and security personnel have sought treatment since the war began in October 2023, roughly 65 percent of them for psychological conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression and difficulties surrounding reintegration into civilian life.

The total number of wounded veterans under the ministry’s care is expected to surpass 90,000 in 2026 and reach around 100,000 by 2028.

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