Haaretz Archives - CrossFireArarbia

7,241 Israeli Soldiers Discharged Due to Mental Disorders

CrossFireArabia
May 7, 2026

A Haaretz report reveals that 7,241 Israeli officers and soldiers have been permanently discharged due to psychological collapse amid the Gaza war. Suicide cases doubled in late 2024, while the military reportedly conceals full data.

The Israeli military has permanently discharged more than 7,000 soldiers for psychiatric reasons during its ongoing war on Gaza, according to a report published by Haaretz. Thousands more regular-service troops have been reassigned from combat roles due to severe burnout or psychological breakdown.

Military accused of hiding true scale

The report cites medical sources within the army’s Mental Health Department, noting that psychological crises among troops began escalating immediately after October 7, 2023, when Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza. The majority of soldiers who participated in the conflict reportedly refuse to return to the battlefield. Since June 2024, the Israeli military has stopped responding to official requests filed under the Freedom of Information Law, the report says. Despite legal deadlines of 120 days, the army has avoided releasing data and only replies to court petitions.

Suicide rates double, image management alleged

Data from the final quarter of 2024 shows that suicide cases among Israeli forces doubled. The report further claims that officers in the Manpower Department and army spokespersons have deliberately delayed or blocked the publication of information that could damage the military’s public image. Türkiye has consistently condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza, and this latest revelation adds to growing international scrutiny over the psychological toll of the war on Israeli forces themselves.

Court forces partial disclosure

Despite efforts to conceal the figures, an Israeli court compelled the military to hand over partial war-related data, which has been described as the highest such numbers in Israel’s history. The report concludes that experts within the Israel Defense Forces have focused their efforts on hiding the truth rather than addressing the crisis. Yeni Safak

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11 Israel Soldiers Commit Suicide in April

CrossFireArabia
April 27, 2026

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.

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At 71,000 Killed: Finally Israel Accepts Gaza’s Health Ministry Stats

CrossFireArabia
January 31, 2026

The Israeli military has accepted the accuracy of the Palestinian Health Ministry’s death toll in Gaza, confirming that about 71,000 Palestinians have been killed in the genocide, after years of refusing to acknowledge the ministry’s reports.

According to Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Thursday, the army said the death toll of around 71,000 killed is largely correct, adding that it did not include those missing and buried under the rubble.

Israel had for years refused to accept the death tolls reported by the Palestinian Health Ministry, even branding it “misleading and unreliable”.

For over 2yrs, most of my pro-Israel guests have angrily denied the Gaza Health Ministry’s casualty numbers and said they were wildly exaggerated. Now, the IDF has accepted they’re accurate. https://t.co/xE0glY8Sfk
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) January 29, 2026

The military said it was analysing the data, which also does not include those who died of starvation or from diseases exacerbated by Israel’s years-long genocide in Gaza.

While accepting their accuracy, the military said it was looking to distinguish civilian and military deaths in the enclave.

The data published by the Health Ministry regarding the dead and wounded in the Gaza Strip have been used since the beginning of the genocide by many international organizations, including UN agencies, governments, media outlets, and researchers, and there is broad agreement that they are reliable.

Also, several studies have even raised the possibility that the death toll in Gaza is even higher than the Health Ministry reports. In June 2025, a study was released concluding that, as of January of that year, some 75,200 Gazans were killed during the war. At the time, more and more international experts concluded that the Health Ministry’s data is reliable, and may even be very conservative.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry this week, over 71,660 Palestinians have been killed during the genocide in Gaza and 171,340 others wounded according to the Quds News Network.

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At 61: One More Israeli Soldier Kills Himself

CrossFireArabia
December 17, 2025

An Israeli soldier killed himself in a military base in northern Israel, taking the suicide-related death toll to 61 since the beginning of the Gaza war in October 2023, local media said.

According to the Haaretz newspaper, a soldier serving compulsory military service sustained critical injuries after shooting himself inside a base and was pronounced dead Tuesday evening in a hospital.

A military statement earlier said that a soldier was seriously injured in a shooting at a military base in northern Israel and was taken to the hospital, where he later died, noting that the military police had opened an investigation into the incident.

A total of 279 Israeli soldiers have attempted to commit suicide from the beginning of 2024 until July 2025, amounting to roughly one completed suicide for every seven attempts, according to a report by the Knesset Research and Information Center.

The Israeli army earlier confirmed that 48 soldiers had taken their own lives during military service since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023.

At least 13 soldiers also died of suicide outside military service due to psychological problems, including six since the beginning of this year; raising the total number of suicides since the start of the war to 61, Haaretz said.

Twenty Israeli soldiers died by suicide in 2024, and 16 others since the beginning of this year until July, Haaretz reported, noting that since then at least four additional soldiers have taken their own lives.

In October, Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir acknowledged a worsening mental health crisis within the army, saying thousands of soldiers were receiving psychological treatment. He urged commanders to stay alert, detect mental health problems within their units, and ensure that soldiers seek immediate treatment.

Nearly 10,000 Israeli soldiers out of 19,000 injured in Gaza are suffering from psychological disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder and are being treated at the Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Department, according to a previous report by the public broadcaster KAN published in late July.

Israel has killed nearly 70,700 victims, mostly women and children, and injured more than 171,000 in Gaza since October 2023 and reduced the enclave to rubble according to Anadolu.

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World Media: ‘Beating Hamas is an Illusion’

CrossFireArabia
September 21, 2025

International newspapers and research centers are openly warning that “the belief in the possibility of quickly eliminating the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) is an illusion and a political and military naiveté. This is coming at a time when the international boycott of Israel is expanding and the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is worsening.

Impossibility

The New York Times quotes Israeli military officers and experts as saying “the complete elimination of Hamas is unrealistic in the near term.” They note that “the movement still possesses a strong presence and combat capabilities that allow it to continue the confrontation for years.”

They maintain: “Betting on eliminating Hamas within a short period reflects an oversimplification of a complex equation.”

Great Civilian Losses

The British newspaper The Guardian states that field reports revealed that Israeli airstrikes are causing large numbers of civilian casualties in Gaza, while Hamas losses remain limited compared to what Israel officially announces.

The newspaper also notes: “The movement is resorting to unconventional tactics such as mines and ambushes, which increases the difficulty of the Israeli mission.”

International Boycott

The British newspaper The Financial Times confirms: “Boycott campaigns against Israel are growing at an unprecedented rate, encompassing the fields of sports, culture, and academia.”

The newspaper highlights a massive advertising campaign in Times Square in New York City, explicitly calling for a boycott of Israel and accusing it of committing “genocide” in Gaza.

In the same context, the Hebrew newspaper Israel Hayom reveals that the Italian authorities have decided to exclude Israel from participating in a tourism exhibition in Rimini, on the grounds that its presence would be “inappropriate” given the ongoing war and humanitarian crisis.

Worsening Humanitarian Tragedy

On the humanitarian front, the Hebrew newspaper Haaretz devotes extensive space to documenting the suffering of women and the most vulnerable groups in Gaza.

It notes the rise in miscarriages, the prevalence of malnutrition among mothers and infants, and a severe shortage of basic health services whilst warning that repeated displacement and poor living conditions are exacerbating the humanitarian catastrophe.

Future Scenarios

International analysts believe Hamas is still capable of reorganizing its ranks and relying on guerrilla warfare and unconventional methods, making it difficult for Israel to resolve the confrontation militarily.

It also predicted the conflict over Gaza would continue for a long time, with the increasing humanitarian and political costs for Israel and the increasing diplomatic and legal pressure on it in international forums.

Since October 7, 2023, the occupying forces, with direct support from the United States and Western countries, have continued to wage a devastating war in Gaza, resulting in the death and injury of more than 231,000 Palestinians to date, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Strip according to JO24.