After many indications that it was on the way, the washing machine finally stopped working. It was making terrible noises.
I was prepared to replace it with a new model, but after reminding me of our financial situation, my wife convinced me to try to repair it. The noises were due to a broken shaft on the drum, which did not look like an easy repair. So I had the idea to get a second hand one on yad2. I found a similar model for 200 shekel and went to pick it up. It turned out that it was in better shape than the one that we had, and the problem was just a clogged filter.
So I learned about the components of the washing machine and for about 50 bucks had a working machine. That should keep us going for a while.