Israel approves $1.9B aid package for reserve soldiers

Defense Minister Katz stressed that the benefits package is not only for reservists but also for their families and the businesses that support them.

By Pesach Benson, TPS

The Israeli government on Sunday approved a comprehensive aid and recognition plan for reserve service members for 2026, totaling NIS 6.2 billion ($1.98 billion), in a move aimed at rewarding the hundreds of thousands of Israelis who have served on the front lines during two years of war.

“We have now completed two years of the ‘War of Rebirth.’ In this war, the people of Israel amazed our enemy with their deeds and amazed our enemy with their blows,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the weekly government meeting in Jerusalem.

“The thing that amazes foreign leaders I talk to the most… is that most of the army that fights is reserve service members. The regular and permanent army do a wonderful job, but the thing that amazes them the most is that hundreds of thousands of the fighting and supporting army are reserve service members.”

The reservists, said Netanyahu, “are on the front lines — and we stand with them and will continue to support them.”

Defense Minister Israel Katz highlighted changes designed to ease the burden on reservists.

“First of all, we made a very important and not-obvious decision — we reduced the number of reserve days to 40 thousand instead of 60 thousand, to make it easier for the soldiers of the reserves,” he said.

Katz stressed that the benefits package is not only for reservists but also for their families and the businesses that support them.

“We have formulated the things and we are bringing them… an envelope that takes into account the unique phenomenon of hundreds of thousands who come and serve and, in fact, their families who support them,” he said.

He described reserve soldiers as central to Israel’s security and its ability to take “bold decisions” that have changed the region.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the aid would be delivered immediately and urged reservists to claim every benefit they are entitled to.

“We are not waiting for the budget to be approved. We are making sure that our reservists and their families do not have to wait a single day,” Smotrich said.

“Make sure you receive everything and do not miss a grant, a vacation, a voucher, or a fighter card — it is yours by law and not by grace…. Your great sacrifice will truly bring the State of Israel to immense peaks of growth, prosperity, and security.”

Around 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken captive by Hamas during the October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel.

The body of Israeli Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili is the last remaining in Gaza. During the last two years, Israeli forces have also operated in Lebanon and Syria, and struck targets in Yemen and Iran.