Haaretz: Israel recruits mentally ill people to fight in Gaza

The Israeli Haaretz newspaper revealed on Sunday that the Israeli army is recruiting people with mental illnesses and post-traumatic stress disorder into its reserve forces to compensate for the significant shortage in soldiers, with the number of soldiers who have committed suicide rising to 35 since the beginning of the war of extermination on the Gaza Strip.

Haaretz reported that since the beginning of the war, at least 35 Israeli soldiers on active duty have committed suicide, including 28 cases by the end of 2024.

The Israeli army refused to respond to Haaretz request to provide updated official data including the number of soldiers who committed suicide during the current year (2025), which raises questions about transparency in dealing with this sensitive and escalating issue.

The Israeli newspaper highlighted Israeli soldiers receiving treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or various psychological illnesses resulting from the war.

According to Israeli Ministry of Defense data, 78,000 veterans of all of Israel’s wars are receiving treatment in the rehabilitation unit, some of whom are over the age of 80.

Of these, 26,000 are mentally ill, of whom approximately 11,000 are recognized as having post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Regarding the current war, the department is treating more than 17,000 wounded, including approximately 9,000 psychologically patients, which reflects the deep and growing psychological dimensions of the ongoing conflict, according to Haaretz.

Haaretz newspaper revealed that the Israeli army has resorted to recruiting mentally ill individuals into the reserve ranks to compensate for the shortage caused by the 19-month war.

An unnamed reserve armored battalion commander admitted that he, “along with other battalion commanders, are aware of the phenomenon of recruiting soldiers with psychological trauma, but they turn a blind eye to it”.

He added, “I wish I could recruit only our original crews, but people simply don’t show up… They’re exhausted and have problems at home and work… So, we’re calling up others, even those who aren’t fully prepared mentally or physically”.

He continued, “We’ve no choice… State security is above all else, and we are doing what is available”.

Dozens of testimonies received by Haaretz reveal that the Israeli army has recently been recruiting individuals for combat roles in reserve units, not only from among those with psychological disabilities still in the process of being recognized by the Defense Ministry, but also from among disabled army veterans recognized as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Haaretz noted that some of these individuals were recognized as disabled years ago, some were previously exempted from service, and some have a high disability rate exceeding 50%.

According to testimonies from disabled IDF soldiers who spoke to Haaretz newspaper, none of them had seen a mental health specialist from the army before being called up for reserve service.

“In fact, the vast majority of them said they were recruited through job advertisements posted on social media, by officers suffering from a severe shortage of manpower,” Haaretz reported.

The Israeli newspaper spoke with three soldiers classified as disabled who were recently recruited for combat roles in the Gaza Strip.

One of them said, “No one asked me about my psychological state, and I didn’t want to talk about it because I was afraid it would lead to my exclusion”.

At the beginning of May, the Israeli army began sending tens of thousands of conscription orders to reserve soldiers in preparation for an expanded fighting in Gaza.