A new report reveals a deepening psychological and operational crisis within the Israeli army, marked by soaring PTSD, suicides, and collapsing reserve enlistment amid the ongoing war on Gaza.

A report addressed to senior Israeli military officials has revealed a crisis affecting soldiers, both physically and psychologically, amid the ongoing genocidal war on Gaza, Al-Jazeera reported on Wednesday, citing Israeli media.

According to the report, filed by the ‘Mothers on the Front’ movement, the rate of reserve enrollment has dropped from 95 percent at the beginning of the Gaza war to only 75 percent currently, while absenteeism rates in some units have reached 50 percent, with a collapse in readiness within regular units.

Le Monde reported that the movement “boasts 70,000 members.”

The data also showed that more than 3,500 soldiers were declared unfit for service for psychological reasons by May 2024, in addition to approximately 2,000 others being treated for “combat reactions.”

PTSD and Suicide Rates

Meanwhile, 12 percent of reserve soldiers suffer from symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a study from Tel Aviv University, the report added.

The year 2024 saw the highest suicide rate among Israeli soldiers in a decade, with 21 confirmed cases, half of them in the reserves, amid indications of undocumented cases and a lack of regular monitoring of suicide attempts, the report said.

‘Unusual Psychological Impact’ – Why Israeli Soldiers Are Taking Their Own Lives

According to Israeli military data, the report continued, some 5,569 soldiers have been injured since the beginning of the Gaza operation, hundreds of them seriously.

The movement “condemned the continued involvement of mentally ill soldiers in combat, considering it a danger to the lives of soldiers and their colleagues,” the report noted.

‘Professional Responsibility’

The report, signed by the movement’s chairperson, Attorney Ayelet Hashachar Seidov, and the head of its mental health department, Agmit Gelev, concluded with a letter to the head of the mental health department, the head of the behavioral sciences department, and the chief medical officer:

Israeli Military Admits to 78,000 Wounded and Disabled Soldiers

 

“This is an ethical, professional, and public order. This is your professional and moral responsibility. Do not stand idly by,” they said.

Rising Gaza Death Toll

Since Israel’s reneging on the ceasefire on March 18, it has killed and wounded thousands of Palestinians throughout the Gaza Strip through a bloody and ongoing aerial bombardment.

On October 7, 2023, following a Palestinian Resistance operation in southern Israel, the Israeli military launched a genocidal war against the Palestinians, killing over 53,000, wounding more than 121,000, with over 14,000 still missing.

Paramedics pulled several children from the rubble after Israeli warplanes bombed a home in Jabaliya, northern Gaza. pic.twitter.com/ww32oqBhM0

— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) May 21, 2025

Despite habitual condemnation by many countries around the world of the Israeli genocide, little has been done to hold Israel accountable.

Israel is currently under investigation for the crime of genocide by the International Court of Justice, while accused war criminals — including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — are now officially wanted by the International Criminal Court.

The Israeli genocide has been largely defended, supported, and financed by Washington and a few other Western powers.

(AJA, PC)