Al Jazeera: Thousands of Israeli soldiers demand early retirement from the army.
The Israeli Channel 12 television announced that this wave of requests was made in response to two main factors: severe burnout caused by months of continuous war and recent controversial appointments in the army command.
The report emphasizes that this phenomenon indicates deep dissatisfaction among the permanent personnel of the Israeli army and could have a significant impact on the operational capacity of the regime in the future.
This action is being taken due to psychological and psychological problems resulting from the Gaza war.
In this regard, an official report published by the Israeli regime indicates an intensification of the phenomenon of suicide and attempts to commit this act among the regime’s military over the past 18 months.
The report, which was prepared at the request of Knesset member of parliament (Knesset) Ofer Kassif and prepared by the Knesset Research and Information Center, shows that from January 2024 to July 2025, 279 suicide attempts were recorded, compared to 40 cases of complete suicide.
According to the report, regular data recording on this phenomenon began in 2024, and official statistics show that 12% of attempts were classified as “dangerous” and 88% as “moderate”.
The report also shows in the long term that 124 Israeli soldiers attempted suicide from 2017 to 2025, of which 68% were active duty soldiers, 21% were reservists, and 11% were regular personnel of the Israeli army.
The report also points to a significant increase in suicides among reservists since 2023, with this group’s share of total suicides having increased sharply in recent years.
Meanwhile, an official from the Israeli Defense Ministry, explaining the trend, said that this increase should be assessed in the context of the significant growth in the number of active reservists since the start of the Gaza war.
According to the report, suicides among Israeli combat troops have also seen a worrying spike, with this group’s share of all suicides in the Israeli army ranging from 42 to 45 percent between 2017 and 2022, decreasing to 17 percent in 2023, and then increasing to 78 percent in 2024 and [the Gaza war].
The data also shows that only 17 percent of soldiers who attempted suicide had met with an IDF mental health officer in the two months before the incident; a statistic that, according to the report, clearly demonstrates the weakness of psychological follow-up and support in the Israeli military units.
Previously, the Zionist newspaper “The Times of Israel” reported that most of the recent suicides among soldiers in the occupation army are related to their long-term presence in war zones and witnessing horrific scenes, and losing their comrades in battle.
A military official told the Zionist newspaper that most suicides were due to complex conditions resulting from the aftermath of the war.
According to the report, in response to this situation, the army announced that, taking advantage of the results obtained, the training of commanders had been improved and mechanisms for monitoring signs of mental problems had been strengthened.
Officials of the occupying army also announced that the number of mental health officers had been increased to 200 active duty officers and 600 reserve officers.
According to statistics published by the Zionist newspaper Haaretz, army officials are concerned that this phenomenon will increase if the psychological effects of the war are not treated.