The Israeli army acknowledged that it has been facing a major mental health problem since 1973, against the backdrop of the war that the Palestinian resistance factions in the Gaza Strip have been waging with the occupation army since the Al-Aqsa flood.
This came in statements by the head of the mental health department in the Israeli army, Lucien Lior, to the Haaretz newspaper, in which he said that about 1,700 soldiers underwent psychological treatment, and that 85% of them returned to service.
He also said that about a thousand soldiers needed intensive treatment due to shock symptoms, and 75% of them returned to service.
Lior expected that after the war, a larger number of soldiers would arrive to seek psychological treatment.
Israeli press sources previously said that about 3,000 regular and reserve soldiers have been examined by mental health officers since the beginning of the war on Gaza on October 7, 2023.
For her part, the head of the clinical department for mental illness in the Israeli army, Yehal Lifshitz, told the state-run Israeli Broadcasting Corporation, “Since last October 7, thousands of soldiers, about 3,000 soldiers, regular and reserve, have been examined by mental health officers in the Israeli army deployed throughout sectors.”
The Israeli army also revealed – weeks ago – that about 30,000 soldiers have called its mental health hotline since the beginning of the war on October 7th.
The statement indicated that “about 200 soldiers were discharged from the army due to the psychological problems they suffered from” as a result of the war.
The Israeli army repeatedly announces that a number of its members are exposed to various health crises, including psychological and neurological problems, in addition to physical injuries resulting from battles and the spread of some infectious diseases.
Haaretz newspaper reported – in a report issued at the beginning of the year – that the mental health system in Israel faces the risk of collapse, especially with the departure of dozens of psychiatrists for Britain, in search of more stable living conditions.
She added that this displacement comes at a time when the demand for mental health services in Israel is increasing due to the Gaza war, as last week the heads of mental health centers sent a letter to State Comptroller Matanyahu Engelman warning that “the mental health system in Israel is approaching complete collapse.”
2024-03-16 17:35:57
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