Dognosis, a health-tech startup co-founded by an Israeli veteran of the IDF's elite Oketz canine unit, combines trained dogs with AI to detect early-stage cancers with over 90% accuracy in clinical trials.

Once the dogs retire at age eight or older, they are generally no longer eligible for insurance, leaving soldiers to shoulder the costs alone.

Freed hostages taken during the October 7 massacre are increasingly turning to dogs to help express and work through the trauma of their captivity.

After two years of war, one-third of Israelis reported needing professional psychological support, highlighting a mounting mental health crisis, according to a comprehensive survey released in December.

Freed hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal was finally reunited with his loyal dog, who had waited faithfully for two years while his master was held captive by Hamas.

The soldier and his year-old dog immediately became the best of friends and trained together for the next nine months before the war broke out.