Suicides among Israeli soldiers are on the rise, with at least five Israeli soldiers taking their own lives in the past two weeks, including recently discharged soldiers and reservists following the expansion of militants in Gaza and other active conflict areas.
According to the report, suicides have increased within the ranks of the Israeli armed forces since the war in Gaza began on October 7, 2023.
Seven soldiers committed suicide by the end of 2023, followed by 21 such incidents confirmed during 2024 and at least 20 such incidents since the beginning of this year.
The latest case, confirmed on Sunday, involves a 19-year-old Norwegian immigrant who immigrated to Israel from Norway less than a year ago to join the Israeli army and was still undergoing training. Four other Israeli soldiers have taken their own lives in the past two weeks, including a soldier from the Golani Brigade who shot himself at the Sadi Teman military base.
Another officer, reservist Daniel Edri, set himself on fire after being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. The majority of suicide cases involve active-duty reservists, and military officials say the reasons for military suicides are clearly attributed to trauma related to military operations, rather than personal or family circumstances.
The Israeli Armed Forces have also confirmed that thousands of reservists have withdrawn from combat duty due to psychological stress.
The true number of suicides due to service-related mental health problems may be much higher. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported at least 12 suicides by veterans who were not mentioned in official military statistics in recent years. According to the report, the ongoing war in Gaza has put severe strain on Israeli forces. 893 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the start of the war.
