Over the past weeks, the legacy media in Israel has spotlighted a suspected rise in suicides among IDF soldiers since the start of the war and has deliberately given extensive coverage of these suspected suicides of IDF soldiers while on leave or upon completing military service; both among young, enlisted soldiers as well as among older reserve soldiers.
The extensive reporting has consistently presented a reckless and dangerous narrative that highlighted suspected cases while claiming that by prolonging the war, the government of Israel is pushing soldiers beyond their limits and the resulting psychological toll has caused an increasing rate of suicide among IDF soldiers.
As a former IDF medical mental health officer with 25 years of professional military service, the proliferation of legacy media reporting of suspected suicide cases whether true or not has a contagious effect on those soldiers who are contemplating or are at risk of attempting suicide. Soldiers who are experiencing a period of instability or unrelated difficulties in their lives (relationships, family illnesses, financial, and so forth) may very well be affected by the extensive coverage and feel a sense of relief, a sense of legitimization, that’s it's OK to end ones' life similar to what other soldiers are doing.
During pervious cycles of suicides in the IDF (prior to the era of social media), it was proven empirically that media reports of suicides have an impact on the rates of suicides among IDF soldiers. At the time, the major media outlets agreed voluntarily to refrain from reporting on suicides in the IDF, and over the following years, there was a significant drop in suicide rates among IDF soldiers.
According to the data released in January 2025, which reflects a total of 15 months out of the 21 months of war, up to 28 soldiers are suspected of committing suicide since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. An additional 10 suspected suicides occurred earlier in 2023, before the war began. These suspected suicide rates mark a sharp increase compared to previous years: 14 suspected suicides were recorded in 2022, and 11 in 2021. Overall, the total number of deaths in the IDF during 2023-2024 — including combat fatalities — was the highest in decades, largely as a result of the ongoing war. These are the statistics that have been used by the legacy media to sway public opinion and demand that the government in Israel end the war on Hamas. The most simplistic extrapolation and statistical analysis will clearly show that the legacy media narrative is not only false but widely misleading and has in itself created the snowball effect of additional suicides that might never have been realized.
Since the outbreak of the war on Hamas on Oct 7, 2023, the size of the standing army in Israel has increased substantially. For context, Israel has a population of about 9.5 million people according to 2023 census estimates. In 2022 the IDF counted 169,500 active-duty personnel and had a cadre of 465,000 reserve personnel in 2022, bringing its total force to about 634,500 individuals.
That equates to about 7% of the population in active or reserve military service. For comparison, America’s total active and reserve military force consists of about 1.74 million or roughly 0.5 % of the population. In addition to the active force, the IDF says that approximately 295,000 reservists have reported for duty since the beginning of the war. In essence, the country has committed about 75% of its armed forces personnel to service in a slate of different roles - basically a full war footing. The average number of days of reserve service is 61 according to the report. Approximately 45,000 reservists have returned to full reserve duty after having been given an exemption from active reserve service. The reservists remain overwhelmingly male at 81% of the reserve force. However, a couple of other numbers jump out. The report’s numbers show that approximately 20% of Israel’s reservists are over 40 years of age. Some 40% of them are parents (115,000 men, 3,000 women).
The war on Hamas has taken a heavy toll with killed in action reaching close to 900 soldiers and thousands wounded. These numbers include those killed and wounded as a result of operational accidents and "friendly fire". The IDF has reported that approximately 9,000 soldiers' mental health has been affected during the war. Of these about 75% have returned to operational activity.
The IDF has increased its active standing army by hundreds of thousands of soldiers. Proportionally speaking, the claim by the legacy media that the IDF is pushing soldiers beyond their limits resulting in a higher rate of suicide is simply incorrect and misleading. The high proportion of older reserve soldiers has created an additional risk factor. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers are returning home between military call ups and take their service automatic weapons home with them, an additional risk factor. The immediacy of a weapon at home may very well be the most significant suicide risk factor for men who develop PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), or are exposed to other non-military stress related events while home. Men and women in uniform commit suicide for many reasons, from my professional experience, many of the reasons are unrelated to military service and are a result of psychological stress from civilian life. The proliferation of alcoholism and drug use in civilian life has also contributed to the rate of suicide while soldiers are on leave or home between periods of reserve duty.
The war on Hamas has taken a heavy toll on the mental health of soldiers who have served as well as their families. We as a nation mourn all of our fallen soldiers, whether in combat or outside the combat zones. To claim that the government of Israel should end the war to prevent future suicides is a false and dangerous narrative that will motivate others to consider suicide as an option rather than all that can be done to strengthen the resiliency of all soldiers serving in the IDF