'Israel' experiencing mental health crisis: Reports

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
1 Jan 2024 12:45
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ERAN, "Israel's Emotional first aid service", reports a spike in demand for psychological and PTSD treatment among Israelis, reaching 100,000 requests.

Israeli invading soldiers walk ahead of a drill at the “Tze’elim” army training center in southern occupied Palestine. (AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli media reported a surge in mental health disorders among Israeli settlers in the wake of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, noting that Israeli reports of psychological breakdowns are on the rise.

ERAN, "Israel's Emotional first aid service", reported a spike in demand for psychological and PTSD treatment among Israelis, reaching 100,000 requests.

In the same context, Israeli newspaper Maariv clarified that the requests were recorded for various categories and age groups.

The director of the association, David Korn, stated that the ERAN centers had never before witnessed such a large influx of calls since their establishment, noting that the teams in the centers dealing with mental health issues are also experiencing a psychological crisis. He pointed out that such psychological disorders will be long-term for Israelis, confirming a significant decline in their sense of "security."

This comes as Israeli psychologists criticized the Israeli Health Ministry's strategy to "ease" the mental health crisis by "appointing underqualified mental health supporters to help meet the expected spike in demand for psychological and PTSD treatment", as per Haaretz.

Israelis' mental health worse than ever since October 7: Gallup poll

On December 23, a poll conducted by Gallup showed that "the mental health of Israelis is worse than ever" in the wake of Al-Aqsa Flood.

According to Gallup, in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 operation, Israelis’ emotional health is worse than ever, stating that "record-high majorities of Israelis now say they experienced worry (67%), stress (62%), and sadness (51%) during much of the previous day. More than a third (36%) also report experiencing a lot of anger."

"Israel" currently holds a record number of 47 in the Gallup index of negative experiences. Since the inception of the global poll in 2006, no other "country" has seen such a substantial annual increase in negative experiences.

Disabled Israeli soldiers to reach 20K if mental disorders included

Similarly, A recent report by Bloomberg revealed that the rapidly increasing number of injuries among Israeli soldiers creates "invisible costs" for the war.

The chief of the Disabled Veterans Organization, Edan Kleiman, told Bloomberg, on December 28, that the number of injuries would probably mount to around 20,000 if traumatized soldiers are counted. Kleiman also added that this marks the first time Israeli ranks witnessed such a high number of injuries that must be rehabilitated, as Israeli authorities do not recognize the severity of the matter or the situation.

In a similar context, the chairman of the IOF Disabled People's Organization, Attorney Idan Kaliman, has lately stressed that there is a huge number of mentally ill Israeli soldiers.

Israeli soldier Avihai Levi details his traumatic experience as a result of the war on Gaza.

His speech took place in the Knesset on Tuesday, the soldier blamed Knesset members for his trauma.

It's worth noting that the Israeli occupation forces are yet to achieve any of their… pic.twitter.com/FlNN7V6rA1
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) December 23, 2023

It is worth noting that an Israeli occupation soldier, who had recently returned from Gaza, experienced a night terror episode and fired his rifle, injuring fellow soldiers in the same room on December 27, as per Israeli media.