Study: 12% of reserve soldiers report PTSD symptoms after Gaza combat service
‘Israel is facing a mental health emergency,’ warns Yair Bar-Haim, head of Tel Aviv University’s National Center for Trauma and Resilience, calling for long-term solutions
Reporter at The Times of Israel
Researchers from Tel Aviv University say there is a sharp rise in the number of soldiers reporting multiple symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder following their service in the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Prof. Yair Bar-Haim, head of the university’s National Center for Trauma and Resilience, who led the study, presented his findings at TAU’s Annual Convention on Wednesday.
About 12% of discharged soldiers showed “significant” post-traumatic symptoms, the researcher said, saying the war has increased “psychological distress.”
The data, Bar-Haim said, “contributes to the understanding that Israel is facing a mental health emergency.”
“Decision-makers must act urgently to develop long-term solutions to address the need for treating a high number of soldiers with PTSD,” he said.
He also called upon authorities to upgrade and accelerate training for future therapists and establish strong regional clinics specializing in trauma and PTSD.
Drop in call-up rate
The war began on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed into Israel, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping 251 into Gaza.
Bar-Haim said the reserves call-up rate stood at over 100% at the start of the war. Now, he said, it has dropped to 75–85%.
The drop could be caused by long-term damage to soldiers’ careers and finances, harm to their families and social lives, anger over inequality in the burden of service, and a general decline in motivation due to the unusually prolonged nature of the war, he explained.
Yet the decrease could also be attributed to a deterioration in mental resilience among soldiers who developed multiple symptoms of PTSD as a result of their service.
Rise of symptoms
The researchers tracked 579 soldiers who enlisted in one of the IDF’s infantry brigades, at five different times since their initial recruitment in March 2019.
The soldiers completed a questionnaire developed by the US Department of Veterans Affairs, translated into Hebrew, considered the gold standard for self-reported PTSD symptom assessment. In the questionnaire, participants rated the severity of their symptoms.
The results of the questionnaire do not replace a formal diagnosis in a structured clinical interview, Bar-Haim said. However, many studies from Israel and abroad point to a strong correlation between the self-reported screening tool and the results of clinical interviews.
The findings showed that as the duration of military service increased, so did the percentage of soldiers reporting multiple PTSD symptoms at severity levels consistent with a clinical diagnosis according to the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition).
At the time of their enlistment, less than 0.5% of recruits suffered from preexisting PTSD. After 15 months in the army, including six months of combat training and about nine months of operational activity, the number rose to 2.6%.
Toward the end of mandatory service, after several additional rounds of operational activity, it rose to 4.4%.
Although there had been hope that symptoms would subside after the soldiers’ discharge, there was actually another increase six months later, with nearly 8% of the soldiers reporting multiple PTSD symptoms.
Bar-Haim said the reasons were unclear, but “the military framework provides support and a sense of belonging, which fades after discharge when each soldier returns home and resumes civilian life.”
The final assessment was made a few months after the outbreak of the current war.
“As expected, the war deepened psychological difficulties,” Bar-Haim said, “with the number of soldiers reporting post-traumatic symptoms rising to about 12%.”
The data from the study aligns with the number of discharged combat soldiers who are turning to the Defense Ministry’s rehabilitation department for help and recognition of their condition, Bar-Haim said.
He said the numbers partially explain the decline in reserves duty participation rates. Reserves soldiers experiencing multiple symptoms find it difficult to show up for additional service. In June 2024, Bar-Haim urged the army to exempt reservists with PTSD from additional military service until their treatment has been completed.
The IDF is taking many steps to prevent and treat PTSD, he added, putting immense strain on the army, the Defense Ministry, the Rehabilitation Department, and Israeli society as a whole.
“But the main burden is on the combat soldiers and their families,” Bar-Haim said.
The Times of Israel Community.