A bill increasing state support for bereaved Israel Defense Forces families and victims of terrorism passed its final reading in the Knesset on Monday, following approval by the Labor and Welfare Committee.
Among other provisions, the amendments to the Families of Soldiers Who Fell in Battle Law and the Benefits for Casualties of Hostile Acts Law grant orphans aged 21 and up a monthly stipend of 3,500 shekels ($1,120) until age 30 and 2,000 shekels ($640) per month until age 40.
The amendments also significantly increase the marriage grant to 300,000 shekels ($96,500), the Knesset Spokesperson’s Office said.
In a previous discussion, the Labor and Welfare Committee announced other changes to the bill, expanding the official definition of “orphan” to include those who lost their parents up to age 30, rather than until 21.
The amendments also provide a monthly benefit of approximately 8,700 shekels ($2,800) to orphans of both parents for 13 years, starting from the date the second parent died, or until the bereaved child turns 50.
In addition, widows and widowers with young children will receive an allowance of up to 6,000 shekels ($1,900) per month to help cover the cost of hiring a caregiver for them, depending on the child’s age.
The amendments also include a monthly compensation of 2,000 shekels for foster families caring for orphans until age 25; help for adults unable to support themselves; assistance with fertility treatments; and funding for academic studies and training up to age 60, among other benefits.
The amendments are estimated to cost about half a billion shekels ($160 million) in the first year, according to the Defense Ministry.
Michal Woldiger, chair of the Labor and Welfare Committee, told JNS that the changes reflect a moral obligation toward bereaved families.
“The law providing benefits to orphans and widows of Israeli wars and hostilities is a moral and important amendment,” she said. “We leave no one behind, neither in their lifetime, nor in their family after their death.
“It is clear that after the war, this amendment is even more necessary, but the truth is that we do not need national disasters to amend. The importance of amending the law is precisely for the days of routine, for the ability to return to life,” said Woldiger, a lawmaker for Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism Party.
“The cost of the bill was initially supposed to be 380 million shekels, and as we worked, I convinced the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Finance to allocate more budgets and expand the eligible populations so that in the end the bill has a budget of about 600 million shekels per year,” the committee chair noted. “This is a huge achievement and a very large investment, and it is worth every shekel.”
She added, “Of course, we were limited by this, because the blanket is short, even though we managed to extend it almost twice as long as the original. I told bereaved siblings and parents: This isn’t the end—it’s very important to provide answers to these populations as well.”
A total of 151 IDF soldiers in regular, career and reserve service died in 2025, the IDF Human Resources Division said on Dec. 31 in its annual casualty summary. The data showed a sharp drop in 2025—fewer than half the 2024 toll of 363 and about 27% of the 558 recorded in 2023.
During the War of Redemption that started after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, 924 soldiers “fell in battle and fought with bravery in order to achieve the war’s goals and the moral duty to return the hostages,” according to an Israeli military statement on Monday.
The statement paid respect to all “security forces personnel who risked their lives, the bereaved families who have lost their loved ones and the 20,000 injured individuals in body and in soul who were wounded for the protection of the State of Israel” during the 27 months of fighting.
Shlomi Nahumson, CEO of the IDF Widows and Orphans Organization: “This is an important development for all widows and orphans of the IDF and security forces. Years of hard work have produced legislation that brings us significantly closer to a reality in which the State of Israel fulfills its promise to the fallen—to accompany and support their families.
“However, the journey is not yet complete. There are significant groups of war orphans who still remain outside the support frameworks. The IDF Widows and Orphans Organization is determined to continue acting through every possible means until this reality changes.”
