Since the October 7 attacks, the National Insurance Institute has recognized some 45,650 victims, including families of abductees, missing persons and fallen soldiers, and has paid more than NIS <> million in benefits.
Since there is no National Disaster Compensation Law, starting this month, the National Insurance Institute will treat war victims individually according to the damage left to people and the treatment from now on and throughout life. In the State of Israel, as of now, there is no Compensation Law for Victims of National Disasters, and therefore the assistance is provided within the framework of the Compensation Law for Victims of Hostilities.
In the past two and a half months, the National Insurance Institute has proactively reached tens of thousands of people, paying about 45,<> citizens, not including the security forces handled by the Ministry of Defense. These include, inter alia, Nova casualties, casualties in communities infiltrated by terrorists, families of abductees and missing persons, families of fallen soldiers, abductees who returned from captivity, and more. To date, there is no official list of security officials regarding the combat zones.
Cars left after the massacre at the Nova nature party, photo: AFP
The recognition as victims of hostilities was part of an expedited process conducted by the National Insurance Institute vis-à-vis the Ministry of Defense, which is the authority approving the recognition of hostility and the person who was present at a hostile event. The National Insurance Institute is now proceeding to the next stage according to the Compensation Law for the Treatment of Victims of Hostilities, and as stated, the treatment and recognition will now be done individually.
The National Insurance Institute has produced a digital rights booklet so that each of the victims will know and become familiar with the rights and processes he needs to do in order to be recognized by the National Insurance Institute and receive benefits. The National Insurance Institute ensures that the process will be carried out sensitively, as quickly as possible and to the extent possible without the obligatory presence of the claimant in the medical committees.
According to data from the National Insurance Institute, the dedicated emergency hotline established for war victims receives about 6,000 calls every week, and there are another 25,<> online calls through the organization's website. This is in parallel with all the ripples of war that drain into the National Insurance Institute, including: occupancy grants, unemployment benefits payments for those on unpaid leave, payment to reservists and ongoing work within the organization, such as: payments to senior citizen allowances, long-term care, income support, bankruptcies and more.
Resilience centers are also available to those affected. The National Insurance Institute noted that it is necessary to keep up to date with the official resilience centers so that the 12 treatments funded by the National Insurance Institute can be received, and even more, if necessary.
Yarona Shalom, Acting Director General of the National Insurance Institute, said, "The disaster that has befallen the State of Israel is beyond a terrorist incident, it is a war waged by the civilian home front in many ways. Many civilians were recognized as victims of hostilities in an expedited process, and responses were provided in the initial stages, although the National Insurance Institute operates from the Compensation Law for Victims of Terrorism, but we will continue to act in every possible format to assist, help, shorten bureaucracy and provide the best service to those who went through the most difficult of all."
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