Reservist with PTSD kills himself after callup order; family pleads for military burial
IDF states Eliran Mizrahi not eligible to be buried in an army cemetery because he wasn’t on active duty at time of death; mother says he returned from Gaza war ‘a broken man’
The Israel Defense Forces is refusing to recognize a reservist with post-traumatic stress disorder who took his own life after being ordered to return to combat in the Gaza Strip as a fallen soldier, his family said Sunday.
Eliran Mizrahi of Ma’ale Adumim was called into the reserves shortly after Hamas’s October 7 attack, when he was assigned to help clear the bodies of those murdered by Palestinian terrorists at the Supernova music festival. He was then sent into Gaza, where he served as a combat engineer until he was injured in April.
According to Channel 12 news, Mizrahi was recognized as a disabled IDF veteran and diagnosed with PTSD, but received an order on Friday to report for duty in Rafah two days later. He then took his own life.
He leaves behind a wife and four children.
Mizrahi’s mother, Jenny, told Kan that he was injured twice during the seven months he was on duty, but that he refused to leave Gaza the first time he was wounded, insisting he wanted to continue protecting the country.
“He wanted to keep fighting, protect the State of Israel, and bring back the hostages,” she said.
Hila Mizrahi, Eliran’s sister, told Channel 13 news that he had “gone through hell” in Gaza and that he refused to discuss many of his experiences from the war.
“He had rockets fired at him, he saw his friends die, and he brought bodies back, and he still did everything for Israel,” she said.
As a result of his time in Gaza, Hila said, Eliran was injured physically and mentally and was told by a doctor that he would not be able to go back into combat.
“He was a happy, joyful, funny, positive, and optimistic person,” Jenny told Kan. “He was the leading light in our home and among his friends, and he came home different. We got back a broken man who was impatient with the kids. He was angry, and he had nightmares.”
Eliran’s family has been fighting to get him recognized as a fallen soldier and have him buried in the military cemetery at Mount Herzl, but the IDF has refused the request because he was not on active duty when he died.
Jenny expressed her frustration at how Eliran was treated following his PTSD diagnosis, saying he told her that psychiatrists treating him said he couldn’t be helped.
“Sending him off to war with his friends is okay, but recognizing him as a fallen soldier isn’t? Why?” she said, adding that she refused to bury him if it wasn’t in a military cemetery.
Eliran’s sister, Shir, told Channel 12 that he had lost his soul to the war.
“The man gave his life to this country and our army, and he doesn’t deserve military burial? Instead of focusing on our grief, we’re forced to fight for his honor,” she said.
“My brother deserves to be buried with an Israeli flag and to have soldiers stand by and salute him. He doesn’t deserve this,” Hila told Channel 13.
Responding to a request for comment, the IDF told Channel 12 that Eliran had done much for the army during the war and in previous military operations.
However, it said that “after looking into it, we discovered that at the time of his death, Eliran was not a soldier nor in active reserve duty, therefore, he is not eligible for military burial under the military cemeteries laws.”
