CrossFireArabia
Israeli soldiers continue to commit suicide in what is becoming a disturbing phenomenon that is becoming linked to Israel’s war on Gaza since October 2023, and now the war ongoing Lebanon.
The Israeli media have continued to report on what is becoming a rising trend of soldiers taking away their lives in Israeli society.
In its Sunday edition of 26 April the Israeli Haaretz newspaper highlighted the fact that eight Israeli soldiers and police officers committed suicide this month alone. The paper adds that three reservists who took part in the war on Gaza also ended their lives this month, making the total to 11 in less than one month.
The number of suicide rates have been increasing since 2023. Then 17 took away their lives, including seven after the 7 October, when the Israeli genocide on Gaza began. Thus, after that, 21 soldiers ended their lives in 2024 and increasing to 22 in 2025. In between the figures it is estimated that 279 soldiers attemoted suicide but didn’t succeed.
Statistics show in the previous decade the average suicides were 12 per year stabilizing from the 28 cases peak of 2010.
Data reports for 2026 shows that reserve soldiers formed the highest number of suicides, at least five cases as compared to three among conscripts and two cases in the ranks of those who take up soldiering as an occupation.
The Israeli military establishment is finding itself unable to control the suicide phenomenon with those in leadership roles realizing the fact that soldiers who are suffering from psychological distress are not seeking help. Haaretz quotes one officer in human resources as saying the army “thought at the beginning of the war it can control the situation but it later blew in its face”.
Psychological experts say the recent rising suicide rates is to do with the fact Israel has never experienced the present kinds of wars it is presently involved in like Gaza and/or Lebanon. The soldiers are under continuous pressure to fight and the fact that the reservists are being called up more than once magnifies the crisis that already exists.
Haaretz points out the army has decreased its support for soldiers who need psychological treatment and sends them back to the warfront before evaluating their psychological state. The soldiers are continually under pressure by their officers to go back to fight or else face arrest.
Also, the declared numbers don’t show the real picture, the newspaper argues, pointing out that there are soldiers who committed suicide after they left the military service with the Israeli army admitting that by the end of 2025, there were 15 cases of this kind. The paper said there were four such cases with three in the last month.
This article is based on a report in Arabic published in the Palestine Information Center and it is republished at crossfirearabia.com.
