AhlulBayt News Agency: The 2025 “Alternative Poverty Report,” released Monday morning by the “Israeli” entity’s “Latet” [Ata’a] organization, revealed a continuous rise over the past two years in the number of families experiencing worsening living conditions across multiple poverty indicators.
These include basic expenses, employment, food security and access to healthcare—even before any potential financial cutbacks are implemented.
According to the report, as cited by “Israeli” Channel 13, the repercussions of the ongoing war and soaring prices have driven the average cost of living up by nearly 3,500 shekels [$1,050] per individual and approximately 9,000 shekels [$2,700] per family annually.
The report estimates the minimum cost of living at 5,589 shekels [$1,680] per individual—representing a 5.5% increase—and 14,139 shekels [$4,240] per family, a 5.6% rise. These sharp increases have pushed food insecurity rates to 27.5% among families and 28.9% among individuals, compared to last year.
The findings warn that “Israel” is facing a social emergency resulting from the economic fallout since October 7, stressing that worsening poverty and rising living costs require radical solutions to achieve genuine social and economic resilience.
The report further revealed that nearly one-quarter of aid recipients have required food assistance over the past two years since the outbreak of the war. Additionally, 61.9% described their mental health as “poor,” a rate nearly three times higher than that reported among the general settler population. More than 42% of aid recipients and about 46% of supported elderly individuals said their mental well-being had deteriorated since the war began.
It also found that 59.6% of aid recipients reported a decline in their economic situation over the past year, compared to 36.5% of the general settler population. In 41% of families receiving assistance, at least one child was forced to enter the workforce—2.4 times higher than the rate in the wider community [17.2%].
The report showed that 83.2% of beneficiary families of working age have at least one income earner, yet still live in poverty. Meanwhile, 54.8% of recipients reported a deterioration in their employment situation since October 7—more than double the rate among the general settler population [26.2%]. Among elderly recipients, 91.1% said they could not afford the care or home assistance they require.
The report quoted Eran Weintraub, Director General of the organization operating in the occupied territories, as saying: “The consequences of the war, the costs of ‘security,’ and the massive rehabilitation needs—alongside the persistently high cost of living and the expected reduction in government spending on essential services—will push us, after two years of military and political war, into at least two additional years of economic and social struggle.
Food insecurity is widening, poverty is deepening, and new groups—including low- and middle-income families, reserve force families, and those whose livelihoods were damaged by the war—are sliding into financial distress, forming what has come to be known as the ‘war poor.’”
Weintraub concluded that “the picture presented by the Alternative Poverty Report is nothing short of a tsunami warning,” stressing that: “The social situation, already severe even before the war, now demands comprehensive action. What is required is a broad government response, beginning with assuming responsibility for food security and establishing an effective national authority to combat poverty, capable of implementing a clear government plan with measurable goals.”
In short, the report warns that the deepening crisis is creating new generations of poverty, sharpening divisions and polarization, and ultimately threatening society’s resilience and its ability to recover and rebuild.
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