From the Liveblog of
Sunday, January 18, 2026
Ministers advance NIS 6.2 billion plan to ease reservists’ burden while expanding benefits
Stav Levaton is a military reporter for The Times of Israel
The Ministerial Committee for Legislation, chaired by Defense Minister Israel Katz, has given its initial approval to an NIS 6.2 billion ($2 billion) compensation and recognition framework for reserve soldiers in 2026, Katz’s office announces.
The plan, expected to be brought before the cabinet for final approval in the coming days, would reduce the overall reserve burden by roughly one-third, such that on a typical day, about 40,000 reservists would be serving. At the same time, benefits and compensation granted in 2025 would be preserved and expanded, with priority given to combat soldiers and commanders.
The framework would also introduce, for the first time, a model developed by the IDF that classifies reservists into six tiers based on the nature and intensity of their service, with benefits adjusted accordingly.
“This is our way of telling them that the State of Israel sees them, appreciates them – and will always stand behind them and their families,” Katz says, noting that reservists carried an “especially heavy burden” during the multi-front fighting of 2025. Reservists saw the extent of their call-ups increase following the outbreak of the war in Gaza with the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, onslaught.
The framework, which Katz’s office says is aimed at maintaining operational readiness while strengthening the economic, familial and mental resilience of reserve service members, serves as a continuation of a series of government decisions adopted since October 2023, entailing roughly NIS 20 billion ($6.37 billion) of funding.
Katz thanks Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich for their cooperation in advancing the plan.
The Times of Israel Community.