By Latifa Al-Hosseiny
The phenomenon of suicide among the "Israeli" occupation forces [IOF] is striking and deserves closer attention. The numbers have risen over the years, as have the underlying causes. Yet the common thread is depression, which can drive a soldier to make the decision to end their life.
Why would a serviceman-whom military leaders regard as the backbone of their field operations-take his own life? Does this indicate declining morale among members of the “Israeli” military establishment? More importantly, is the occupation facing a serious structural problem that threatens to erode its ability to wage war, with direct consequences for the effectiveness of its forces and the outcomes of its future military operations?
Suicide Rates Are Rising
Today’s discussion begins with figures reported in the Zionist entity in recent years. Fourteen suicides were recorded in 2022, followed by 17 in 2023, according to Knesset figures; 21 in 2024; and 22 in 2025- 12 compulsory-service soldiers, one career soldier, and nine reservists, according to IOF data.
According to IOF data presented to the Knesset in 2025:
● About 50% of the suicides in 2025 involved combat soldiers.
● About 85% were carried out using a weapon.
● About 75% involved soldiers who had not previously received treatment or follow-up from a mental-health officer [“Kaban”].
279 Suicide Attempts Among IOF Personnel
A report by the Knesset Research and Information Center, published at the end of 2025, also found that 279 suicide attempts were documented among IOF personnel between January 2024 and July 2025.
16 Suicides Since the Start of 2026!
So far this year, although the “Israeli” military has not yet released a final figure, published reports indicate that 16 suicides have been recorded since the beginning of the year, according to Haaretz.
The data therefore confirm a further rise in suicides within the security and military establishment- a trend that began with the outbreak of the war on 7 October 2023. In the decade preceding the war, the IOF averaged 12 suicides per year. IOF data indicate that seven active-duty soldiers died by suicide between 7 October 2023 and the end of that year; 21 soldiers died by suicide in 2024; and last year the number reached 22- the highest figure in the past 15 years.
The Problem of Suicides Outside Active Service
IOF data provide only a partial picture of the scale of the problem, as they do not include soldiers who take their own lives while not on active duty. For years, the IOF avoided addressing this issue, arguing that soldiers who had completed their service were no longer its responsibility. However, a series of media reports about soldiers who took part in the war and later died by suicide after taking off their uniforms forced the IOF to change its policy, albeit only to a limited extent.
At the end of 2025, the IOF acknowledged that its review had identified 15 such cases up to that point. Haaretz reported at least nine additional cases since then.
Calls for Greater Support for Soldiers
The Ministry of War attributes the rise in suicides to the sharp increase in active reservists since the outbreak of the Gaza war and the events that followed.
Knesset member Ofer Cassif, who requested the Knesset Research and Information Center’s report on suicides, said plainly that what he described as a suicide epidemic- one that appears likely to worsen now that the war has ended- requires the creation of genuine support systems for male and female service members. Above all, he said, it requires ending the wars and achieving real peace. “A [government] that sends its soldiers to war and captivity and then abandons them is the one acting against them- not those who struggle against wars.”
Mental Health Takes Center Stage in the IOF
These figures come amid growing concern over mental health in the IOF. This prompted “Israeli” Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir to say: “The issue of mental health concerns me greatly. Today, thousands are receiving treatment. Commanders must remain alert, identify the scale of the problem in their units, and ensure that people receive care. Do not be ashamed to seek treatment- hundreds have received the appropriate care, and their lives were saved.”
The Phenomenon Predates 2023: Its Causes
In examining the reasons behind these suicides, a 2018 study by Ben-Gurion University’s research center stands out. It used psychological autopsy, one of the most widely used methods for studying suicide.
All cases of suicide among male soldiers [69 cases] in the IOF between 2009 and 2013 were analyzed using psychiatric records, military investigations, and interviews with people close to the soldiers.
The researchers found that depression was a major factor in a substantial proportion of cases, and that lower impulsivity played a direct role in the decision to die by suicide.
An earlier 2013 study by Geha Mental Health Center and "Tel Aviv" University’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine likewise identified three groups associated with suicide among the IOF:
● Soldiers who had attempted suicide.
● Soldiers receiving psychiatric treatment without having attempted suicide.
● Soldiers not receiving psychiatric treatment.
According to the study, the factors that encouraged occupation soldiers to consider suicide at that time included:
● A reduced ability to cope with stress.
● Higher levels of psychological distress.
● Lower levels of social support.
● A reduced ability to solve problems.
Psychological Disorders
More recent data point to an Associated Press investigation from 2025, which found that more than 11,000 Zionist soldiers had been diagnosed with war-related psychological injuries. It also reported a marked increase in suicides and suicide attempts compared with the pre-war years.
The report stressed that the phenomenon is directly linked to the continued war and the repeated mobilization of reserve forces.
At the beginning of this year, Reuters- citing Ministry of War data and Zionist officials- reported an increase of nearly 40% in post-traumatic stress disorder cases among enemy IOF personnel since late 2023. Its mental-health treatment system has come under severe strain as the number of psychologically injured personnel has risen.
Internal Collapse of the IOF
The deteriorating psychological condition within the IOF aligns with a public warning issued by Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir before the security cabinet last March. He presented ten “red flags” threatening the IOF- warnings that, he said, could lead to internal collapse.
Zamir said at the time that the IO was facing a growing crisis in readiness and preparedness. He stressed the urgent need to pass a conscription law, legislation regulating reserve service, and an extension of compulsory service. He warned that “in the near future, the army will not be prepared to carry out its missions in routine times, and the reserve system will not endure.”
He also noted that these challenges could directly affect the IOF's ability to respond to security developments, amid ongoing pressure on its forces and an increasing dependence on reservists.
Based on IOF reports, Knesset committee findings, journalistic investigations, and public statements by military officials, the IOF—which has long displayed its capabilities and military superiority over other countries in the region- now appears to face an existential threat that can be summarized as follows:
● The reserve force problem: the burden placed on the IOF’s backbone and its capacity to bear additional demands.
● The erosion of the IOF’s image within “Israeli” society.
● The impact of the psychological crisis on combat capability.
● Psychological burnout among Zionist soldiers, which is increasingly leading them to suicide.
The Challenge of Human Sustainability
The IOF therefore faces a different challenge this time: human and psychological sustainability. A force whose operational doctrine depends on high readiness and the ability to withstand attrition requires, above all, personnel with a strong sense of confidence, motivation, and belonging. Yet rising signs of psychological breakdown, growing numbers of suicides and suicide attempts, and the expanding number of personnel sufferings from post-traumatic stress disorder all point to an accumulating internal cost of war-one that may gradually affect the military institution’s own effectiveness.
The most dangerous indicator, then, is not simply the number of soldiers who die by suicide, but what that number reveals about the institution’s eroding ability to maintain the cohesion of its personnel after repeated exposure to combat stress. A soldier who returns from the field with untreated psychological trauma, or who feels that the institution that sent him to war can no longer support him, shifts from being a source of strength to becoming an additional challenge for the IOF.
Strategic Attrition
Ultimately, the danger of this phenomenon lies not only in its being a mental-health crisis, but also in its potential to become a long-term source of strategic attrition. Wars are not decided by weapons alone; they also depend on an institution’s ability to maintain a cohesive human force that is ready to fight. If current indicators continue to rise, the IOF may face a dual challenge in the future: preserving its operational readiness on the one hand, and preserving its soldiers’ ability to bear the burden of that readiness on the other.
This contradiction- between the need for more fighting and the declining capacity of the human element to bear its cost- may become one of the most significant factors shaping the wars the occupation wages and their outcomes in the years ahead.
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