A nation under strain: Official data tracks rise of depression, stress in year after Oct 7

Government statistics highlight worsening mental health, declining trust and rising emigration among general population in months after Hamas’s attack

By Stav Levaton

You will receive email alerts from this author. Manage alert preferences on your profile page

You will no longer receive email alerts from this author. Manage alert preferences on your profile page

26 January 2026, 5:33 pm

Edit

Stav Levaton is a military reporter for The Times of Israel

More Israelis reported experiencing depression or stress in 2024 than they reported the year before, as the aftermath of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught and ensuing war frayed nerves, especially among people living in communities near the Gaza border, new data released Monday showed.

The socio-economic snapshot published by the Central Bureau of Statistics also showed that life expectancies dropped slightly in 2024, and while births were up overall, a steep decline in births was recorded nine months after the devastating attack.

While overall life satisfaction among those aged 20 and older remained high and largely unchanged in 2024 over 2023, fewer Israelis believed their lives would improve in the future. The share estimating their lives would not improve or would worsen rose from 30.7% in 2023 to 33.8% in 2024.

Other mental health indicators also worsened. The share of Israelis reporting depression climbed from 25.5% in 2023 to 33.9% in 2024, while those reporting stress rose from 58.2% to 67.9%.

The impact was especially pronounced in communities near the Gaza border. In localities alongside the border fence, the number of people with psychological disabilities jumped from 1,600 in 2023 to about 8,600 in 2024. When including Gaza border communities further from the Strip as well, the figure rose from 9,500 to 21,300.

Mental illness among IDF veterans also increased by 18.1% in 2024. Additionally, 52% of spouses of reservists reported a deterioration in their children’s mental state following their partners’ service.

A disabled man holding an image of a hostage taken captive by Hamas as he sits in front of a clock indicating the time spent in captivity, in Tel Aviv on January 17, 2025. (Jack Guez / AFP)

Israel’s disability registry, which recognizes both mental and physical disabilities, grew by 13.5% from 2023 to 2024, alongside a significant increase in the number of people receiving disability allowances from the National Insurance Institute from 4,200 to nearly 30,000.

The bureau also reported a slight decline in life expectancy, which fell from 83.8 years in 2023 to 83.4 in 2024 excluding war fatalities.

Births, on the other hand, rose from 178,700 in 2023 to 180,800 in 2024, though the bureau recorded a significant drop in June and July 2024 — roughly nine months after October 2023 — compared to the same months a year earlier.

From August onward, births increased, peaking in September with a 7.2% rise compared to the same month of the previous year.

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish children recite the words of “Shema Yisrael” in the presence of a newborn baby a day before his brit milah (circumcision ceremony), in the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim, Jerusalem, January 22, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Trust in institutions also declined: confidence in the justice system dipped from 43.5% in 2023 to 42.2% in 2024, while trust in government fell from 26.9% to 24.6% — the lowest levels since 2015.

The share of Israelis reporting a general sense of personal security in their area of residence fell from 82% in 2023 to 80.2% in 2024. In communities up to 15 kilometers from the Lebanon border, the figures were similar to the national average — 82.3% in 2023 and 81.6% in 2024 — while Gaza border communities saw a steep drop from 84.6% to 65.2%.

The war’s economic and social ripple effects were also reflected in tourism and business activity. Just half a million tourist overnight stays were recorded in the last quarter of 2023, compared to 2.4 million in the same period in 2022. Israeli overnight stays, by contrast, surged due to evacuees housed in hotels.

The downturn continued into 2024, with a 13.6% drop in total overnight stays compared to 2023.

Evacuees from Kibbutz Be’eri at a hotel in the Dead Sea, October 20, 2023. (Yossi Zamir/Flash90)

The bureau reported that in October 2023, 36.7% of businesses nationwide were temporarily closed or operating at minimal capacity. The disruption was most severe in the south, where the share reached 59.4%.

Recovery was evident in November-December, particularly in the south, where the share of closed businesses fell sharply to 10.3% by December.

The deterioration of several facets of Israeli life appeared to have an effect on Israeli emigration, with 79,900 Israelis moving abroad in the period between October 2023 and September 2024, compared to 74,600 in the period between October 2022 and September 2023. Meanwhile, the number of Israelis living abroad returning to Israel declined by 19.9% during that same period.