‘Israeli’ soldier self-inflicted deaths by year

• Two active-duty soldiers die by suicide.
• Military suicides rise to at least 16 this year.
• Annual suicide rate has increased since Oct. 7.
• Multiple reserve and former soldiers also reported dead.

A monitoring report by Haaretz reveals that at least 16 active-duty 'Israeli' military personnel have committed suicide since the start of the year, following two separate cases involving female service members over the span of three days.

On past Tuesday morning, a female fighter in the Cheetah Battalion took her own life at a military base in southern 'Israel'.

She was discovered with severe injuries and transported to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Two days prior, a female soldier serving in a classified role within the Intelligence Corps committed suicide at the Glilot base near Ramat Hasharon.

The Military Police Investigating Division has initiated formal inquiries into both incidents, with findings to be submitted to the Military Advocate General's Corps for review upon completion.

Data shows sharp rise in suicides since 2023

The findings point to a sustained increase in suicides across the army establishment, accelerating sharply following the outbreak of war on October 7, 2023.

During the decade preceding the war, the military recorded an average of 12 suicides per year. Following the start of the conflict, 7 active-duty suicides were logged in late 2023, rising to 21 in 2024 and reaching 22 in 2025, marking the highest single-year total in 15 years.

However, official 'Israeli' military figures present only a partial picture of the phenomenon. The military historically excludes individuals who end their lives after completing their service or while off active duty, maintaining that discharged personnel fall outside army jurisdiction.

Media reporting on veterans ending their lives after taking off their uniforms eventually prompted minor policy adjustments. By late 2025, the military acknowledged that its internal reviews had identified 15 such off-duty cases.

Haaretz monitoring has documented at least nine additional cases among recently discharged veterans since then.

Combat trauma to systemic pressure

Additionally, military officials have recorded cases involving veterans of prior conflicts diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who took their lives after October 7.

The Defense Ministry has also identified instances of reservists who suffered severe mental distress during service and subsequently died of drug or alcohol overdoses following their release.

Officials from the 'Israeli' military Mental Health Department maintain that no single demographic or operational profile characterizes the suicides, attributing the broader overall rise in numbers to the massive expansion of active and reserve personnel during wartime.

The military also notes that several cases involved non-combat factors:

• Institutional stress and debts: In January, a career lieutenant colonel in a rear-line role ended his life following financial debt and what colleagues described as systemic harassment and denial of medical treatment funding.
• Legal investigations: In March, a reserve lieutenant colonel committed suicide the day before he was scheduled for police questioning in a fraud investigation.
• Training and adjustment strain: Multiple suicides occurred among recruits prior to completing basic training, with some cases involving alleged commander abuse or difficulty adjusting among lone soldiers.

Simultaneously, the military has confirmed numerous suicides directly tied to wartime exposure. Key cases include Eliran Mizrahi, a reserve D9 bulldozer operator diagnosed with PTSD after months in Gaza who took his life in June 2024, an armored corps soldier who returned to service with PTSD, and a reserve paramedic who served at the Re'im music festival site.

Other cases involved elite combatants, including a reserve operator in the Shaldag unit who participated in October 7 battles and subsequent operations before taking his life on Independence Day.

Two drone operators also committed suicide during the conflict, one a reserve lieutenant colonel whose peers reported he could no longer endure the horrors of war, and another a young officer in regular service who took his life shortly after a drone crash caused by human error.