43 Israeli Soldiers Commit Suicide Since October 7, 2023

The Israeli sources have acknowledged severe psychological trauma among Israeli military personnel due to the Gaza conflict, admitting that 43 soldiers have committed suicide since October 7, 2023.

Israeli sources confirmed that since October 7, 2023 (the start of Al-Aqsa Storm Operation), 43 soldiers have committed suicide due to war-related mental health disorders, according to Al Jazeera.

The Israeli sources have reported a rise in suicide rates among Israeli soldiers. The most recent case was Daniel Edri, a 24-year-old soldier responsible for transporting the bodies of troops killed on the front lines in Lebanon and Gaza, who committed suicide due to psychological trauma.

Accordingly, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, quoting various sources, wrote that the Israeli army, due to a shortage of personnel, is recruiting individuals with mental illnesses from the reserve forces to fight in Gaza.

The Israeli military, facing a manpower shortage and an increase in soldier suicides, is calling up troops who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (P.T.S.D.), it added.

Israel’s Ministry of Internal Security earlier announced that 9,000 Israeli soldiers had become mentally disabled since October 7, 2023.

The Israeli army does not disclose the number of suicides among its soldiers this year, and since the Gaza war began many bodies have been buried without military funerals.

One Israeli soldier stated that military commanders are giving traumatized soldiers two options: suicide or desertion.

A military commander also told Haaretz that thousands of reserve soldiers in Gaza were suffering from psychological disorders.

The Israeli military is forced to send people into battle who are not mentally stable, he added.

There is no choice but to enlist individuals suffering from psychological illnesses, even those under treatment, he stated.

Earlier, Israel’s Kan 11 had reported that the military has resorted to recruiting 800 psychiatrists and using mental health counseling centers to try to control the crisis.

According to the Palestinian Sama news agency, Yair Lapid, a Knesset member and opposition leader, said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is sending Israeli soldiers to death in Khan Younis and Jenin, while opposing the enlistment of Haredi Jews.

Avigdor Lieberman, the head of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, said the soldiers killed in recent months were sacrificed to maintain the ruling coalition.

He added that the Israeli cabinet is preventing an agreement for the release of prisoners.