From the Liveblog of
Monday, January 8, 2024
13,000 people, including 2,500 soldiers, have been treated in Israeli hospitals since war outbreak
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Since the beginning of the war, the health system has treated 13,000 wounded people, including 2,500 soldiers, says Health Minister Uriel Busso.
Testifying before the Knesset Health Committee, Busso states that NIS 2 billion ($538 million) has been budgeted for mental health and that the rehabilitation system will be strengthened by increasing the number of available beds from 900 to 1,500.
An additional 2,300 hospital beds will be added and multiple resilience centers will be opened in the coming years, he adds.
Israel lacks the capacity to treat all of those injured and traumatized in the ongoing war, a representative of the Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Division informed the Knesset Labor and Welfare Committee last month.
“If we don’t get additional resources and standards, we won’t be able to take care of everyone,” the representative declared, adding that despite its commitment to do so, the ministry has not established a separate department for treating soldiers suffering from PTSD.
