Israel increases welfare services due to Gaza war

Tel Aviv [Israel]: Israel’s Ministry of Welfare and Social Security implemented 510 new standards for welfare services in local authorities as a result of the war in Gaza.

The ministry said these standards are intended for the treatment of evacuees in hotels, the reinforcement of the welfare departments in the Gaza Envelope and the northern settlements, as well as for the departments that received the evacuees.

The social worker standards that were added are intended to address a series of social needs that the ministry expects to increase after the war such as: Domestic violence; Treatment of at-risk youth; Treatment of victims and victims of sexual assault; Treatment of the victims of the 7th of October, mainly children who remained orphans, the families of the abducted and missing, young people in risk situations, building communities in crisis, emergency standards and more.

The addition of standards for the local authorities was also accompanied by the addition of 150,000 additional hours and additions for sudden calls, which were assigned immediately upon the start of the war in order for the workers to be properly compensated for their work.

Director General of the Ministry of Welfare and Social Security Yanon Aharoni: “The needs that greatly increased following the war forced us to allocate resources and manpower in order to be able to provide the best services to the citizens of Israel. The additional standards will mostly be devoted to the treatment of the unique needs that arose following the war such as treatment of orphans, bereavement and other hardships.”