Is it possible that a Sderot resident, who rushed to her parents' house on October 7 after learning that it had been hit by a missile, and discovered her father, brother-in-law, and nephew murdered there, will not be recognized as a victim of hostilities, even though she was diagnosed as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder?
According to an appeal filed on her behalf by attorney Michaela Demertz to the District Court, it turns out that the answer to this is far from clear.
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On the morning of October 7, 2023, at the height of the missile attack and infiltrations into southern communities, S. (pseudonym), a 27-year-old female educator from the enclave, who was at the time heavily pregnant, awoke to the sound of alarms, gunfire, and incessant explosions.
Her husband was at the synagogue at the time, and she was left alone at home. Announcements were heard on the street instructing residents to lock themselves in for fear of terrorists entering. S. locked the doors and locked herself in the police station, when she heard gunshots and believed that terrorists were roaming near her house.
According to Attorney Demertz, in those moments she felt a tangible danger to her life and the life of her fetus.
After a few hours, her husband returned from the synagogue and the two barricaded themselves in the compound for long hours, without food or drink, under continuous alarms. Suddenly, a loud explosion was heard that shook the entire house, a picture fell from the wall, and the air filled with dust.
S. burst into tears in panic. Her husband went out to check on what was happening, but a policeman who arrived at the scene ordered everyone who had gone outside to return home immediately. In retrospect, it turned out that a rocket had fallen only about thirty meters from their home.
S., a Sabbath keeper, did not turn on her phone or television in the first few hours, and did not understand the scope of the events. When the tension increased, and concerns arose about her safety, she turned on her phone and discovered that a missile had hit her parents' house, and a fire had broken out there.
Despite the danger, she ran out of the house towards her parents' house. As she ran hysterically, alarms and gunshots continued to sound, and she was forced to lie on the ground several times to protect herself.
When she arrived at her parents' house, she was confronted with a terrible sight. The paths were covered in blood, the house was destroyed, and the smell of charred flesh filled the air and burned into her memory. On the spot, neighbors informed her that her father, brother-in-law, and 13-year-old nephew had been killed. She was taken to the place where the victims were gathered, and was forced to identify the bodies of her loved ones. Since that day, she said, the smell of charred flesh has not left her.
Several weeks after the events, on November 1, 2023, S. went to her family doctor and complained of severe anxiety that had arisen since the rocket fell near her home. She was referred to a psychiatrist, and on November 5, she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and severe anxiety.
Holistic emotional therapy was subsequently initiated, during which intense fears, constant alertness, nightmares, and acute physical reactions of rapid heartbeat, sweating, and waking up in panic were documented.
S. reported that she has difficulty falling asleep, wakes up at night from memories of the war, avoids leaving the house and refuses to pass by her parents' house. She rarely drives and meets family members who are overwhelmed by the memory.
During 2024, she was also examined by another psychiatrist who noted full symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, including flashbacks, uncontrollable crying, and a constant feeling of fear.
Even after giving birth, S. had difficulty functioning, and needed constant help at home and at work. She was treated with psychiatric medication, but with limited effectiveness. Due to the burden on the public system, S. was forced to seek private psychiatric treatment and finance the treatment out of her own pocket. The private psychiatrist she consulted also determined that she suffered from severe PTSD.
In December 2023, S. filed a claim with the National Insurance Institute to recognize her as a victim of hostilities, describing the circumstances of the incident, the murder of her three family members, and her difficult mental condition.
But to her surprise, eight months later, in July 2024, the Ministry of Defense, which is the approving authority for claims for recognition as victims of hostilities, rejected her claim.
The decision states that although the Authority shares in her grief over the death of her loved ones, this is not a hostile attack according to its definition, because S. was not present at the time of the hostile event, but was only exposed to its consequences.
In her distress, S. turned to attorney Michaela Demertz, who filed an appeal on her behalf against the National Insurance Institute's decision with the Tel Aviv District Court.
The appeal claims that the events that S. experienced constitute a single chain of hostile acts - from the feeling of threat in the MMD to running under fire and exposure to the scenes of horror in her parents' home. According to Demertz, this is an ongoing event that led to direct and clear mental damage.
The National Insurance Institute, through its lawyers, argued, on the other hand, that S. did not meet the recognition requirements since she was not present at the event itself, and that the mental damage stems from mourning the death of her relatives and not from exposure to a hostile act. The hearing was held behind closed doors in the Tel Aviv District Court.
According to the court's recommendations, the parties met and reached an agreement whereby the appeal would be dismissed without an order for costs. S. would file a new lawsuit with full evidence, and the National Insurance Company undertook not to raise claims of statute of limitations or res judicata, and to accept her request, if it corresponded to the claims in the appeal.
The new lawsuit included the full psychiatric reports and treatment documentation that proved direct and ongoing harm as a result of the events of October 7. After further examination, the Ministry of Defense accepted her position, and on October 27, 2025, the National Insurance Institute announced that it had recognized S. as a victim of hostile acts.
The injury was recognized as an anxiety reaction, and she was referred for psychological and psychiatric treatment at the expense of the National Insurance Institute.
According to attorney Demertz, the National Insurance Institute's broad recognition of victims of hostilities is welcome, but despite this, there are quite a few victims who are rejected, just like S., for various and strange reasons.
According to Attorney Demertz, the difficulty for trauma victims to prove a direct connection between the extreme event they experienced and the ongoing harm to their psyche is not simple, and therefore it is recommended to contact the authorities only after receiving appropriate legal advice, which will ensure the full realization of the rights to which the victims are entitled.
