Legal Aid Opens Over 3,600 Cases for Families Affected by Oct. 7 Attacks

Since the October 7th Hamas attacks, Israel's Ministry of Justice Legal Aid Unit has opened more than 3,600 cases to assist families of fallen soldiers, hostages, returnees, and victims of the massacre. The unit provides free legal representation to vulnerable populations, with some cases not requiring a financial means test. The "Swords of Iron Cases" initiative, established immediately after October 7th, offers comprehensive legal support to families of those killed, abducted, or who fell during the war. This assistance covers personal status matters, benefits from the National Insurance and Defense ministries, financial issues with banks, housing, insurance rights, and guardianship.

Notable cases include the court's recognition of a woman as the legal daughter of a murdered resident of Kibbutz Be'eri, enabling her to inherit his assets despite an informal will lost during the attack. The Legal Aid Unit is also representing dozens of families in claims against the Defense Ministry to recognize them as distant victims of hostility, a category for relatives who experienced the trauma of their loved ones' deaths or abductions through digital means, including graphic videos and prolonged phone calls.

The report also highlighted a general increase in cases handled by Legal Aid in 2025 compared to 2024, though this is partly attributed to a system upgrade. Specifically, civil and debt cases rose to 61,500 from 45,000, and family law cases increased to 54,700 from approximately 36,000. Cases related to National Insurance saw a slight decrease.

Recent legal amendments, supported by the unit, now provide income-test-free legal aid to disabled veterans or victims of hostility charged excessive fees by their lawyers, and to employees who are bereaved family members and are dismissed during their first year of mourning. The unit also secured a NIS 1 million compensation ruling against a driver who transported a Hamas terrorist to a deadly attack, on behalf of the family of a Border Police officer killed in the incident.

Additionally, free legal aid is provided to Holocaust survivors and Nazi fighters, assisting them with benefits and legal proceedings. A new initiative offers income-test-free assistance to seniors over 65 who have been victims of financial exploitation and scams, a phenomenon that has seen hundreds of victims lose significant assets, including their homes. The unit also reported on various court decisions in 2025, including requiring the National Insurance to make special accommodations for sexual assault victims in medical committees, compensation for a murdered woman's family due to alleged investigative negligence, and rulings on discrimination against Ethiopians and for a soldier who resigned to enlist.