Israel is treating 80,000 injured soldiers—including 26,000 for mental illness—since the war on Gaza began, with officials warning of a “major national challenge” amid rising suicides and system-wide strain.
The Israeli Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Department revealed on Wednesday that it has treated approximately 80,000 soldiers since the start of Israel’s military assault on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, including 26,000 suffering from mental health conditions.
The department acknowledged that 33 percent of these psychological cases are post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
According to a statement cited by the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, the ministry allocates more than half of its annual budget—about 4.2 billion shekels ($1.2 billion)—to medical and psychological services for wounded soldiers.
The department described the soaring number of casualties, combined with a spike in suicides among military personnel, as a “major national challenge.”
Israeli media reports suggest that the burden on the military’s rehabilitation infrastructure has intensified in recent months.
Al-Quds Brigades Releases Footage of Operations against Israeli Forces in Sheja’iya
Israel’s public broadcaster KAN reported that 16 soldiers have taken their own lives since the start of 2025 alone.
However, other sources quoted by Ma’ariv, including Israeli writer and analyst Ephraim Ganor, suggest that the number of military suicides since the war began may be as high as 45.
Ganor warned of a “silent epidemic” of PTSD creeping into Israeli society—one that will become even more dangerous once the war ends and the “sounds of artillery fall silent.”
The latest statement by the rehabilitation department came amid protests by former soldiers outside the department’s headquarters in Petah Tikva near Tel Aviv. Demonstrators called for improved support services and raised alarms about suicide risks among reserve soldiers.
Israel’s genocide in Gaza has so far killed over 61,000 Palestinians and left more than 211,000 dead or wounded, most of them women and children, according to local health authorities and international aid agencies. The war has also displaced hundreds of thousands and pushed the besieged territory to the brink of famine.
Al-Quds Brigades published footage of an attack targeting an Israeli vehicle and troops in the Shejaiyya neighborhood in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/fvOXa8aOfO
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) August 5, 2025
In November 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Separately, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is currently hearing a genocide case against Israel filed by South Africa.
Backed militarily and diplomatically by the United States, Israel has expanded its war front beyond Gaza.
Between October 2023 and November 2024, it waged an extensive military campaign in southern Lebanon. In June 2025, Israel also launched strikes on Iran. Simultaneously, Israeli warplanes continue to carry out airstrikes in Syria and Yemen.
(PC, AJA, Israeli Media)
Israel’s genocide in Gaza has so far killed over 61,000 Palestinians and left more than 211,000 dead or wounded, most of them women and children, according to local health authorities and international aid agencies. The war has also displaced hundreds of thousands and pushed the besieged territory to the brink of famine. — can the the spike of suicide be shame, guilt?? I do not think garden variety Zionists feel anything. And “sounds of artillery fall silent.” — come on! The sounds of artillery are far worse taking the damn US (Canada) shells than those pulling the string!!