"We don’t trust our government:" Suicidal thoughts haunt Israeli soldiers due to Gaza genocide

The Israeli military is providing psychiatric treatment to thousands of soldiers struggling with severe stress and psychological problems due to its ongoing genocide in Gaza.

The one-sided war, which has claimed over 42,000 Palestinian lives, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, has spread to Lebanon, fueling fears among soldiers about returning to the front.

“A lot of us are very scared of getting drafted again to a war in Lebanon,” a member of the Israeli army medical staff confessed to CNN.

“A lot of us don’t trust the government right now,” he added.

An Israeli soldier, Eliran Mizrahi, who committed suicide due to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), had operated a heavily armoured D-9 bulldozer in Gaza for 186 days. 

His family recounts how the trauma he witnessed led to severe depression.

“He got out of Gaza, but Gaza did not get out of him. And he died after it, because of the post-trauma,” his mother Jenny Mizrahi said while talking to the publication.

“They [government] didn’t know how to treat them (soldiers).

“They (soldiers) said the war was so different. They saw things that were never seen in Israel.”

His friend and fellow bulldozer driver, Guy Zaken, echoed similar sentiments with Mizrahi's mother.

“We saw very, very, very difficult things. Things that are difficult to accept,” he told CNN.

Zaken's experiences have left him struggling to cope, admitting he can no longer eat meat due to the gruesome scenes etched in his memory.

The Israeli Ministry of Health reports alarming suicide statistics, with over 500 people taking their lives annually and more than 6,000 attempts recorded. 

The Israeli forces have not released official figures on soldier suicides, but the need for psychiatric treatment is clear.

The war's impact extends beyond soldiers, affecting ordinary citizens in Gaza. 

The decades-long siege and multiple wars have taken a devastating toll on mental health, according to the United Nations and aid organisations.