Israeli reservist kills himself after being called up for duty

An Israeli reservist committed suicide after being called up to active service, according to Israeli media.

The Israeli Public Broadcasting Authority aired the report on Monday but did not name the IOF soldier.

The story occurred less than a week after Israeli media reported the death of a reservist called Asaf, who had killed himself earlier after showing up for a call-up.

Last month, the mother of an IOF member who took his own life told CNN that what he saw in Gaza may have haunted him.

According to the mother, Eliran Mizrahi returned as a “different person”, traumatized by the war on Gaza and often describing seeing “invisible blood” to his family. “Because of the army, because of this war, my brother is not here,” his sister stated.

Thousands suffering from PTSD

Thousands of soldiers are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or mental health issues resulting from their experiences in the war on Gaza. The IOF have not given an official number of how many members have committed suicide, but one medic told CNN anonymously that many “do not trust the government right now.”

Israeli soldiers who fought in Gaza told CNN that they witnessed horrors that the outside world could never truly understand. 

Data show that more than a third of IOF members who have been removed from combat suffer from mental health issues. The Israeli Ministry of Security’s Rehabilitation Department noted that every month, over a thousand new soldiers are removed from combat for treatment, with 35% complaining about their mental state and 27% experiencing “a mental reaction or post-traumatic stress disorder.”

Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that 10 soldiers took their own lives between October 7 and May 11, according to military data. When CNN inquired about the number of suicides in the IOF since the war, Uzi Bechor, a psychologist and commander of the IOF’s Combat Response Unit, revealed it was not permitted to divulge such figures and claimed the suicide rate in the IOF was “stable”.

In 2021, suicide was the leading cause of death among soldiers, with at least 11 soldiers reported to have taken their own lives, according to the Times of Israel.