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Official data revealed by Israel on Monday shows that 300,000 people in various parts of the country have accessed mental health services since the beginning of the genocidal war against the Palestinians in Gaza in October 2023. The data issued by the Israeli Ministry of Health was presented to the Parliamentary Health Committee.
“The number of patients in the field has gradually increased and reached 300,000 people, at varying degrees due to the war,” explained the head of the Mental Health Division in the ministry, Gilad Bodenheimer. “330 million shekels [$88.4m] has been allocated in grants to support the health funds to expand psychiatric clinics for the year 2024, while 610m shekels [$163.4m] has been allocated for the year 2025.”
The official pointed out that the number of psychotherapists, social workers, mental health doctors and occupational therapists has increased over the same period.
“The psychological crisis caused by the tragic events and the war that followed obligates us as a committee and as a society to ensure that the ongoing efforts made for the psychological rehabilitation of those affected and their relatives does not stop,” added the head of the Knesset Health Committee, Yonatan Mashriki MK, from the Shas party.
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