SAEDNEWS: A sharp rise in suicides among Israeli soldiers since the 2023 Gaza war has revealed a deepening mental health catastrophe within the ranks—unmasking institutional neglect, societal denial, and the unraveling of military cohesion.
According to Saed News, the Israeli military is grappling with an unprecedented surge in suicides, especially among reservists, in the wake of the Gaza war that erupted in October 2023. At least 21 Israeli soldiers took their own lives in 2024—the highest figure in over a decade—while over 14 suicides have already been reported in the first half of 2025. Most of the cases involve reservists hastily deployed to frontlines without psychological screening or proper support.
Critics charge that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) systematically downplay these cases and resort to concealment, fostering an atmosphere where mental illness is stigmatized and untreated. “The silence has become a stigma,” one human rights group noted, warning that the lack of transparency not only perpetuates suffering but also endangers unit morale and operational readiness.
The psychological toll is staggering. Research indicates that 12 percent of reservists returning from Gaza exhibit symptoms of severe PTSD, rendering them unfit for further service. Nearly 30,000 soldiers have sought psychological help since the war began, and hundreds have been discharged due to mental health breakdowns. Reserve enlistment has plummeted from 95 percent to 75 percent, and absenteeism in some units has reached 50 percent.
Recent suicides underscore the human cost. On July 10, a Golani Brigade soldier took his own life at Sde Teiman military base shortly after returning from Gaza, where he lost a close friend in combat. Despite psychiatric supervision and disarmament, he obtained a weapon from a peer and ended his life. Similarly, reservist Daniel Edri died by self-immolation after repeated combat deployments in Gaza and Lebanon and being denied timely psychiatric care.
Civil society is beginning to push back. Groups like “Mothers on the Front” condemn the continued use of psychologically unstable soldiers and warn of systemic collapse. As recruitment falters and trauma metastasizes, the suicide wave reflects a deeper national crisis—an Israeli society increasingly engulfed by the consequences of perpetual warfare and militarized expansionism.
The crisis is no longer confined to battlefield stress—it speaks to the ethical decay of a military system that prioritizes dominance over the well-being of its own soldiers.
