Israeli Defense Forces soldiers have historically had a very high rate of suicides, in spite of the fact that this rate had been improving recently. That improvement, however, took a turn for the worse after the latest IDF military operation in Gaza.
Now, the Israeli military police have opened an investigation into what is casing the recent spike in IDF suicides. Three members of an elite military unit recently committed suicide.
The soldiers were members of the Givati Brigade, who were directly involved in the Gaza ground operation during the recent War on Gaza.
One after another, the Givati soldiers began committing suicide after the Israeli operation ended.
The Israeli daily news Maariv explained that these were all cases of self-inflicted gunshot wounds, with two of the soldiers shooting themselves near the border with Gaza.
A senior military psychiatric specialist said that before this operation, last year saw less soldier suicides than normal, with only eight soldiers having committed suicide last year. This may have simply been an anomaly, as it was the lowest in recorded IDF history. Before that, the rate was on the increase, with suicide being the highest cause of death among IDF soldiers.
Gazans say that they are not surprised, as the brutality that they witnessed from IDF brigades would have, according to Gaza City resident M.A. Hussein, “been impossible for anyone with a conscience to live with.”
(Article by Abu Hussein; Zeidy David and R. Abraham) VIA CCN
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