A sobering new report from the Knesset Research and Information Center has found that nearly 280 Israel Defense Forces soldiers attempted to take their own lives between January 2024 and July 2025, underscoring growing mental health concerns within Israel’s military amid the prolonged war against Hamas.

The report — prepared at the request of Hadash-Ta’al MK Ofer Cassif, one of the Knesset’s most left-wing lawmakers — reveals a troubling trend: for every soldier who died by suicide, seven others attempted to do so.

The figures represent a marked escalation in mental distress among Israeli troops since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre, which triggered Israel’s largest mobilization of reservists in decades and thrust tens of thousands of civilians back into combat duty.

According to the data, combat soldiers accounted for 78 percent of all military suicides in 2024, a dramatic surge from the 42–45 percent range recorded between 2017 and 2022. Military analysts say the shift reflects the unique psychological burden on front-line troops serving in an extended and unpredictable conflict.

The findings were compiled from internal IDF Medical Corps mental health records and Knesset committee hearings, focusing solely on soldiers currently serving — either in regular or reserve duty. The report explicitly excludes veterans who took their own lives after completing military service, meaning the actual scope of the crisis could be significantly larger.

Knesset researchers cautioned that while suicide rates fluctuate in wartime, the consistency of attempts over the 18-month period points to systemic stress within the ranks.

MK Ofer Cassif, who commissioned the study, said the figures should serve as “a wake-up call to Israeli society and its leadership.”

“The state cannot demand endless sacrifice from its young people while ignoring the emotional and psychological toll,” Cassif said in a statement. “Mental health must be treated as a national security priority.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)