From the Liveblog of
Thursday, July 16, 2026
Government approves sweeping overhaul of wounded veterans’ rehab system
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The government announces 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 triggered a multifront war.
The reform will transform the Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Department into a national authority with expanded staffing, funding and independence, while reducing bureaucracy, 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 says. “Our wounded soldiers went into battle to defend the state, and we are fighting for them and for their rehabilitation. This is not only our moral duty – it is our national duty.”
“Today’s government decision is a historic reform that we have led in the rehabilitation system for wounded IDF soldiers and security personnel. It fundamentally changes the way the State of Israel treats the wounded,” says Defense Minister Israel Katz. “Our responsibility now is to implement these decisions in full.”
The decision comes after the Defense Ministry warned earlier this month that its rehabilitation system was struggling to cope 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, roughly 65 percent of them for psychological conditions. 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.
The Times of Israel Community.