Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich visited the Kisufim military base on the Gaza border today (Wednesday). They announced an additional allocation of 400 million shekels to the aid fund for reservists. This decision will allow the continuation of benefits provided to reservists from the beginning of the war until the end of 2024.
During their visit to the Kisufim base, the ministers received an update on the division’s activities during Operation Swords of Iron and spoke with soldiers and commanders about the various needs of reservists and their families.
Following this, they met with battalion and brigade commanders from the reserves who had come from various combat zones. During the meeting, the commanders presented the challenges they face in ensuring the continued operational deployment of reservists in future call-ups.
“We came to see and evaluate how we can jointly support the reserve forces. You know that the Finance Minister and I don’t always agree on everything, but we are in full agreement on the issue of the reserves,” Gallant said, emphasizing the tremendous work done by the Ministry of Finance throughout the war in compensating reservists, together with the Ministry of Defense. “We allocated 9 billion shekels at the beginning of the war, and in the coming days, we will add around 400 million more, plus an additional 200 million for this purpose. This is intended to ensure that the aid fund continues to operate as needed,” he said.
“Reservists will continue to be the backbone of the IDF in the war and in future deployments for years to come. As you can see from the strategic environment, unfortunately, things are not quiet, and we will have many more periods of deployment—in Gaza, Lebanon, Judea and Samaria, and other places. Therefore, we must ensure that we maintain the uniqueness, strength, and power of the IDF, including the reserve forces, which have proven themselves above and beyond in this war,” the Defense Minister added.
Minister Smotrich expressed his appreciation for the reservists and emphasized their significant importance in this broad campaign of Operation Swords of Iron and beyond: “I came first and foremost to say thank you, and as the Defense Minister mentioned, both he and I realized early on in the war that this war would be fought by the reservists, and their families. Tanks are important, artillery is important, planes are important, and ammunition is important, but it’s the people who win the war.” He added, “It’s clear to us that each and every one of you would have come here even if you received nothing, but as a state, we also understand the need to provide the space, both for you—as soldiers and commanders—and for the families on the home front—the wives and children—to sustain this over time.”
In conclusion, Smotrich summed up his remarks by saying, “There is no debate that, in the end, the central pillar of all this is you, the reserve forces—soldiers, commanders, and the home front. We want to hear from you how we can better equip you to manage this over time.”
