From gaps in protective infrastructure in local authorities and hospitals to remote learning and delays in compensation payments to those affected by the war, the State Comptroller exposes deficiencies in the way government bodies have handled emergencies, as reflected during the Swords of Iron War
The State Comptroller and Ombudsman, Matanyahu Englman, today (January 6, 2026) published the ninth installment in a series of audit reports addressing the failures of October 7 and the Swords of Iron War. This publication includes four audit reports examining the emergency preparedness and response of government bodies in the following areas:
- Protective measures and sheltering in local authorities
- Protection of hospitals
- The preparedness and operations of the Israel Tax Authority in compensating for war-related damages
- The preparedness of the education system for emergency learning and its operation during the Swords of Iron War
“When the government, the Home Front Command, and local authorities fail to prepare properly during routine times, Israeli civilians are harmed when a crisis breaks out,” said Comptroller Englman. “The reports published today underscore the critical importance of state audit. They reveal deficiencies in the actions of various authorities that failed to organize effectively to provide appropriate services to the public, and indicate the urgent need for immediate corrective action.”
Millions of Residents Without Adequate Protective Infrastructure
Nearly three million people lack access to a reinforced safe room (Mamad), a public shelter, or other forms of standard protective infrastructure. “The lack of protective infrastructure endangers lives,” said Comptroller Englman. “One-third of Israel’s residents are not adequately protected against missile attacks, including more than 42,000 residents living in communities located within 9 kilometers of the border with Syria and Lebanon.”
The audit found that the Home Front Command decided to freeze implementation of the second phase of the municipal protection program without ensuring an alternative plan. The Protect the North program, launched in 2018, was supposed to ensure that the civilian home front would be prepared for emergencies. However, the budget allocated for its implementation was less than half of the amount approved by the government, and even that reduced budget was not fully utilized. According to the Comptroller, “The government approved a multi-year program without allocating budgetary resources, despite the issue having already been raised in a previous report.”
Additionally, numerous deficiencies were identified in the maintenance of public shelters in the local authorities reviewed. Approximately 12% of Israel’s public shelters are unfit for use. The audit discovered shelters that were either dirty, lacked electricity, were flooded with water, or had blocked emergency exits. The situation is significantly worse in Arab communities: fewer than 0.5% of Israel’s public shelters are located in Arab localities, and some of those shelters are not fit for use.
In addition, nearly half a million children were studying in schools without standard protective infrastructure (as of March 2024). The Ministry of Education lacked data on the existence of standard protection in more than 50% of kindergartens.
Hospitals Exposed to Attack
"The Iranian missile strike on Soroka must serve as a wake-up call for the government. The gaps in hospital protection must be addressed,” warned the State Comptroller. The audit found that 56% of inpatient beds and 41% of operating rooms in general hospitals lack standard protective infrastructure. In major medical centers, large hospitals located near the border, 56% of catheterization and vascular imaging rooms are also unprotected. The situation is even more serious in psychiatric hospitals, where approximately 75% of inpatient beds are unprotected, and in geriatric hospitals, where approximately 63% of beds lack standard protection.
“During the Swords of Iron War and the 12 Days War, hospitals were forced to relocate entire wards to underground parking facilities,” the Comptroller added. “However, many hospitals do not have protected underground parking areas. Moreover, even sites designated as ‘the highest level of protection,’ where hospitals are currently operating, do not in fact meet required protection standards. There is concern that the ability of many hospitals to continue providing medical services to the general population during a prolonged, large-scale war would be limited. The Swords of Iron War and the 12 Days War have demonstrated that the entire country (not only hospitals near the borders) is under threat from rockets and missiles. This underscores the importance of strengthening protective infrastructure in all hospitals."
Appealed Your Compensation Claim? Expect to Wait Two Years
During the Swords of Iron War, the number of claims submitted to the Israel Tax Authority’s Compensation Fund surged dramatically. From October 2023 to December 2024, 59,000 claims for direct damages and 525,000 claims for indirect damages were filed with the fund. By comparison, over the 18 years preceding the Swords of Iron War—from the Second Lebanon War in 2006 through all subsequent rounds of fighting up to October 7—approximately 56,000 claims for direct damages and 197,000 claims for indirect damages were filed in total.
The State Comptroller found that the Ministry of Finance and the Israel Tax Authority failed to regulate, through permanent legislation, eligibility criteria for compensation for indirect damages and the method for calculating compensation. As a result, each round of fighting required separate legislative processes to address compensation arrangements. “These procedures extended the time between when the damage occurred and when a compensation claim could be submitted, delays of up to 92 days,” said the State Comptroller, Matanyahu Englman. “This situation made it difficult for businesses to recover from the damage and continue their operations."
Received Compensation and Want to Appeal? Be Prepared to Wait, A Long Time The audit found that the handling of appeals submitted to the Compensation Fund’s appeals committees took an average of 851 days, more than two years.
What else did the State Comptroller find when examining the preparedness and operations of the Israel Tax Authority in compensating for war-related damages? “During tours I conducted in the North, it became clear that local authorities are struggling to manage and implement the required rehabilitation processes. In addition, there is no mechanism for pooling budgets designated for the rehabilitation of war-related damage. The Compensation Fund paid businesses more than NIS 3 billion for indirect damages during the Swords of Iron War and in previous rounds of fighting, even though claimants were not entitled to those payments. Of that amount, NIS 1.5 billion was overpaid during the Swords of Iron War alone, and NIS 1.9 billion had not yet been recovered as of the conclusion of the audit.”
Problematic Remote Learning
A review of the Comptroller’s report leads to the troubling conclusion that the education system failed to draw the necessary lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic. “Despite our recommendation as early as 2021, following the COVID-19 pandemic, regarding remote teaching and learning, the Ministry of Education has yet to complete the preparation of a national, multi-year strategic plan to advance digital learning,” Comptroller Englman stated. Surveys conducted by the State Comptroller's Office among school principals and parents revealed that even during the war, there was a significant shortage of resources for remote teaching and learning. The education system is also unprepared when it comes to reaching protected spaces: a survey we conducted found that in nearly 40% of the schools sampled, not all students were able to reach protected areas within the warning time.”
Oversight of All Levels
In the days following the October 7 massacre, the State Comptroller began a series of field visits to communities in the Gaza border area, the South, and the North. The Comptroller also met with evacuated residents staying in hotels in Eilat, the Dead Sea area, Jerusalem, and across central and northern Israel.
On January 7, 2024, the Comptroller announced the launch of an audit covering approximately 60 subjects, examined by some 200 audit directors in the State Comptroller's Office. The Comptroller outlined three key principles guiding the audit:
- The audit will be rigorous and apply to all levels – political, military, and civilian.
- In the core audits and in additional subject areas, personal accountability will be assigned to those responsible for the failures.
- Once a state commission of inquiry is established, the State Comptroller will determine the division of responsibilities with it.
The initial intention was to publish, within a few months, reports addressing the core failures that enabled the October 7 massacre. However, an interim injunction—lifted in April 2025 following understandings reached between the State Comptroller's Office, the IDF, and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet)—delayed the audits on these subjects for approximately 15 months. It should be noted that the State Comptroller's Office is in the process of auditing the core issues as well. An interim order issued by the High Court of Justice on December 29, 2025, has suspended audits on eight of these subjects; however, work continues on the remaining Swords of Iron War audits that have not yet been published.
In light of the situation, State Comptroller Englman decided that, given the importance of the civilian-related audits, reports would be published upon completion of work on each one. This publication is the ninth in the series of Swords of Iron War reports, focusing on failures at the civilian level.
The Swords of Iron reports that have been published until now:
- Mental Health Treatment Following the Events of October 7 and the Swords of Iron War (11.2.25)
- The Operation of Resilience Centers in the Confrontation Line Localities since the Outbreak of the Swords of Iron War (11.2.25)
- The Regulation of the Community Emergency Response Teams Before the Swords of Iron War and their Operation since the Beginning of the War (11.2.25)
- The Provision of Aid to the Victims of Hostile Activity since the Events of October 7 (11.2.25)
- The Rehabilitation Processes of the Western Negev Settlements (24.2.25)
- Government Response to the Needs of Northern Communities During the Swords of Iron War: Civil-Economic Front (10.6.25)
- Economic Assistance to Small Businesses in the Initial Months of the Swords of Iron War (10.6.25)
- Taking Care of Special Populations by (Non-Evacuated) Local Authorities During Emergencies (23.7.25)
- Activity of the Educational Psychology Service for Emotional and Mental Support – in Routine Times and During the Swords of Iron War (23.7.25)
- Manpower in Emergency Situations in Local Authorities – Swords of Iron War (23.7.25)
- The Handling of Public Inquiries and Complaints by Local Authorities in Routine Times and During the Iron Swords War (23.7.25)
- Local Authorities' Preparedness for Fires – Follow-up Audit (23.7.25)
- the government handling of the civilian sphere during the Swords of Iron War (3.9.25)
- The City of Elat's Tourism Promotion and Economic Development in Light of the Swords of Iron War (16.9.25)
- The Agricultural Sector during the Swords of Iron War (16.9.25)
- Ensuring the State of Israel's Food Security in an Emergency (21.10.25)
- Operation Iron Swords – Economic and Budgetary Aspects (4.11.25)
- The Absence of a National Security Concept and the Ramifications to Fundamental Processes at Both the Political Level and within the Israel Defense Forces (11.11.25)
- Aspects of Support for Reservists (18.11.25)
- Ilan and Assaf Ramon International Airport – Elat: Airport Security Against Terrorist Threats and Preparedness for a Mass-Casualty Incident (2.12.25)
- Preparedness to Protect Critical Infrastructure Against Missiles, Rockets, and Other Aerial Threats – Follow-Up Audit (2.12.25)
- Effectiveness of the Seam Line Barrier and Crossings in the Jerusalem Periphery Area (2.12.25)
