After Israeli Soldier Committed Suicide Following Orders to Return to Gaza, Scrutiny Intensified Over Israeli Army's Policy of Keeping Suicide Statistics Confidential

An Israeli soldier took his own life just two days after coming back from deployment in the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli media reports. 

Eliran Mizrahi, 21, a resident of the illegal Or Yehuda settlement, reportedly took the drastic step to avoid returning to the Gaza war. 

According to the Hebrew site Walla, Mizrahi had worked in Gaza as an excavator driver for 78 days and was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 

It also mentioned that he had previously posted photographs of his actions while on active duty and boasted about his brutal acts in the besieged Palestinian territory. 

According to reports from the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, 10 members of the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have died by suicide since October 7, with some incidents occurring during confrontations in settlements near the Gaza border. 

The newspaper stated that while most suicides within the IOF typically involve younger soldiers, many IOF personnel in general are subjected to an uncommonly deep psychological effect. 

Guy Zaken, a friend of the soldier who committed suicide admits that the Israeli occupation army faces severe resistance in Gaza and psychological illness due to the trauma of war. In a video shared online, he calls himself a heavy machinery operator and details his experience as a soldier under constant gunfire and witnessing his comrades die while fighting. 

“We experienced massive amounts of terrorist attacks … things you can’t even imagine in your mind,” said Zaken. “I hear all your pain here really, and I can relate. I lost my partner in a D9 bulldozer. He took his own life last week. He shot himself in the head, not once, twice.” 

According to Haaretz, IOF has been compelled to address an unforeseen rise in suicidal tendencies among soldiers and officers, both in active duty and reserves, particularly among individuals aged in their thirties and forties. 

The newspaper also brought attention to the case of a permanent service officer who was discovered deceased in his car, having died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, two weeks after the commencement of an operation known as Al-Aqsa Flood. 

While the IOF declined to disclose specific names or details about those who died by suicide, data indicates that 620 IOF troops have been officially declared deceased since the onset of the conflict in Gaza. However, according to Haaretz, the actual number in the occupation army's records is 637, which includes 17 settler soldiers who died in road accidents and others who died by suicide but were not formally declared deceased. 

According to reports, the Israeli army has consistently kept data on suicides among IOF personnel confidential. Over the years, they have refused to disclose information about the number of soldiers who have taken their own lives, maintaining secrecy on this important issue. 

Suicide has emerged as a prominent cause of death among IOF soldiers since the 1990s, reaching a peak of 43 suicides in 2003 following the Intifada—surpassing combat fatalities. Despite a decrease to 14 suicides in 2022, these numbers represent only a fraction of the larger issue, indicating a hidden mental health crisis that both the IOF and Israel’s Ministry of Defense shield from public scrutiny to evade accountability. 

Reports from Israel suggest a significant deficit of soldiers in the reserve forces as the conflict extends into its ninth month, leading the Israeli army to actively seek volunteers for combat operations in Gaza.