"Amidst the early era of COVID, for example, frontline workers grappled with moral dilemmas like which patients to prioritize for ventilators, whether to continue caring for patients when supplies of protective equipment dwindled, and how to protect their families. This year, the American Psychiatric Association formally recognized moral injury, which, when untreated in workers in high- stress, service-oriented occupations, can correlate with suicidality."
"Suicides among the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have reportedly hit a 13-year high. As of July 2025, at least 54 soldiers have died by suicide since the start of the Israel-Hamas War on October 7, 2023. This includes 16 suicides in 2025, 21 in 2024, and 17 in 2023-compared to 14 in 2022 and 11 in 2021. Some thought leaders posit that this crisis is a byproduct of nationalistic policy choices: Israel seemingly prioritizing war and phased annexation over ceasefire and hostage negotiations."
A significant rise in suicides among Israel Defense Forces personnel coincides with intense post-October 7 mobilization and redeployment of reservists. At least 54 soldiers died by suicide through July 2025, with yearly totals rising sharply since 2023. Observers link the surge to moral injury arising when people in high-stakes roles face no-right-choice ethical dilemmas, a condition now recognized by the American Psychiatric Association and associated with suicidality when untreated. Veterans report that the collapse of absolutist us-versus-them frameworks, ethnonationalist pressures, and stigmas around early discharge or whistleblowing have intensified isolation and moral distress.
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