Israeli soldiers commit suicide after seeing horrors the world can never truly comprehend

Israeli soldiers returning from Gaza are reporting severe psychological trauma, with some taking their own lives after witnessing what they describe as horrors that the outside world can never truly comprehend. Their harrowing accounts offer a glimpse into the brutal reality of Israel’s onslaught on Gaza and the mental toll that the violence being perpetrated against Palestinians is having on occupation soldiers serving on the front lines.

In testimonies to CNN, occupation soldiers returning from Gaza revealed the horror of Israel’s operations. They testified that troops had to “run over” dead or living Palestinians “in the hundreds.” They reporting being unable to eat meat following deployment, saying that the sight of it triggers memories of the gruesome scenes witnessed in Gaza. “When you see a lot of meat outside, and blood… both ours and theirs, then it really affects you when you eat,” one soldier told CNN.

Eliran Mizrahi, a 40-year-old reservist, is one of a number of occupation soldiers who committed suicide after returning from Gaza after being deployed there on 8 October last year. Mizrahi spent 186 days operating a D-9 bulldozer, a 62-ton armoured vehicle designed to withstand explosives and bullets. Guy Zaken, Mizrahi’s friend and co-driver of the bulldozer, provided some insight into their experience in Gaza. “We saw very, very, very difficult things,” Zaken told CNN. “Things that are difficult to accept.”

READ: Israeli who fled 7 October attack commits suicide on her birthday

Before taking his own life, Mizrahi struggled with severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, including bouts of anger, sweating, insomnia and social withdrawal. His family reported that he repeatedly said that only those who served alongside him could truly understand what he had witnessed. “He saw a lot of people die,” said his mother. “Maybe he even killed someone.”

The occupation army is said to be grappling with an unprecedented mental health crisis within its ranks. According to the Israeli defence ministry’s rehabilitation division, approximately 1,000 soldiers are being removed from combat monthly, with a staggering 35 per cent reporting mental health concerns. The projection is that by year’s end, 14,000 wounded fighters will require treatment, with 40 per cent expected to face mental health issues.

Ahron Bregman, a political scientist at King’s College London and former Israeli soldier, explained that Gaza presents unique psychological challenges due to its urban nature and prolonged duration. “How can you put your children to bed when, you know, you saw children killed in Gaza?” he asked. Israel is currently under investigation by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for genocide. It denies the allegation.

Bregman went on to explain that armoured bulldozer operators are among those who are most directly exposed to the brutality of Israel’s operation in Gaza. “What they see is dead people, and they clear them with the debris,” Bregman told CNN. “They go over them.”

Across Israel, the suicide crisis extends beyond the military. More than 500 people die by suicide annually, with over 6,000 attempting to take their own lives. The health ministry acknowledges a likely 23 per cent under-reporting of these figures, suggesting that the true scale of the crisis may be even greater. Within the occupation army specifically, suicide was reported as the leading cause of death among soldiers in 2021, with at least 11 soldiers taking their own lives that year.

The full extent of Mizrahi’s PTSD came to light amid controversy, when the occupation army initially refused to grant him a military burial. The army was forced to overturn its decision following a public outcry.

Despite the mounting evidence of severe psychological trauma among Israeli soldiers and the devastating personal toll of the genocide in Gaza, recent surveys indicate that only six per cent of Israelis believe that the military operation in the besieged enclave should be halted.

READ: Fifty Israelis allegedly committed suicide after surviving Hamas attack at music festival