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Monday, November 10, 2025
Female combat soldiers tell Knesset panel about gender-related PTSD issues
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleTal Schneider is a Political Correspondent at The Times of Israel
The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, chaired by Likud MK Boaz Bismuth (Likud), holds a special session today on PTSD among female combat soldiers and the gender-specific issues they face.
The discussion was initiated by MK Meirav Ben-Ari of Yesh Atid, following weeks of testimony from female soldiers in several Knesset committees.
Several female combat soldiers shared testimonies with lawmakers, raising gender-specific issues, including the need for trauma-recovery centers that provide services separate from men; the fact that rehabilitation centers are not open 24/7, while nightmares and panic attacks often strike at night; fear of pregnancy and childbirth because of violent flashbacks, often triggered by the sight of blood; and difficulty functioning as mothers while coping with trauma.
Committee members ask the Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Department to return with detailed answers on how treatment differs between male and female combat veterans.
Post-traumatic stress among IDF troops has become a major public concern since the start of the war on October 7, 2023. According to official IDF figures, 279 soldiers and security personnel attempted suicide between January 2024 and July 2025, while 67 have died by suicide since the war began.
The Times of Israel Community.