Incidents of suicide within the Israeli military have risen at an alarming rate since the onset of the Gaza war. With the suicides of two female soldiers this week, the total number of such deaths for the year has reached 16.
The Middle East-based news outlet Middle East Monitor reported this information on Wednesday.
A report by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz stated that a female soldier from the Bardelas Battalion—deployed along the Egypt-Israel border—took her own life on Tuesday morning at a military base in southern Israel. Although she was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, doctors pronounced her dead.
Earlier, on Sunday, another female soldier committed suicide at the Glilot military base near Ramat HaSharon in central Israel. She was a member of Israel’s Military Intelligence Directorate and was engaged in a classified assignment.
Haaretz reported that the Israeli military police have launched an investigation to determine the circumstances behind both incidents.
According to data gathered by the newspaper, 16 active-duty Israeli soldiers have committed suicide since the beginning of the year. Additionally, nine other members of the regular and reserve forces—who had participated in the Gaza war—took their own lives while off duty.
A previous Haaretz report noted that 22 active-duty Israeli soldiers died by suicide in 2025, marking the highest annual number of suicides in the Israeli military in 15 years.
These recent events have sparked renewed concern regarding the long-term psychological stress associated with the Gaza war and the mental health of military personnel. However, the Israeli military has not officially commented on whether there is a direct link between these suicides and war-related stress.
