Since the beginning of the war, more than 7,200 injured military and security personnel have sought help from the rehabilitation department of the Ministry of Defense, 95% of the victims are reservists under 30 years of age. As a result of injuries and combat shock, 30% of victims (2,111 people) developed psychological problems such as difficulty sleeping, anxiety, depression and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
The head of the rehabilitation department, Limor Lurie, believes that by the end of the year the number of new wards of the department will grow to 20 thousand people, of which approximately 8,000 will require psychological, emotional or psychiatric help.
Due to the growing number of victims, the department’s budget was increased by 1.9 billion shekels, from 5.4 billion in 2023 to 7.3 billion this year. As reported on Wednesday, April 17, by the economic publication Calcalist, part of this budget is designed to increase the availability of psychological and psychiatric care.
Additional funds have been allocated for the services of psychiatrists with experience in the treatment of combat jet mental disorders, as a result of which the new rates for each case have increased to 700 shekels from the 200 shekels that the Ministry of Defense previously offered specialists. In recent months, the rehabilitation department has recruited 400 emotional therapists, desperately needed by injured service members.
155 service dogs were given to the victims for therapy, and another 140 dogs are currently in the process of training.