Israeli military reservist commits suicide after horrors witnessed in Gaza

A 24-year-old Israeli military reserve committed suicide after the horrors he witnessed in Gaza and having to transport the bodies of fallen Israeli soldiers, Hebrew-language media reported on Sunday.

The reservist has been identified as Daniel Edri, who reportedly had been suffering from deep mental distress for a prolonged period of time.

Reports state that he suffered from constantly remembering the sights and smells in Gaza amid the brutal war on the enclave.

His body was found in the Biriya Forest, near the city of Safad.

Two of Edri’s friends were killed at the Nova party and concert in 2023, which reports said contributed to his declining mental health.

His mother has called on the state to honour her son and grant him a military funeral, which has still not been accepted.

She added that Edri wanted to enlist and served for long periods of time as a combat support in the south and north, with one of his main jobs being to transport bodies of Israeli soldiers.

"He told me that he saw horrors, and said to me that he smells the bodies and sees them all the time," his mother told Israeli media.

She noted that his condition continued to deteriorate despite him seeking medical help.

Sometimes he would burst into fits of rage, destroying his apartment, she said, adding that she often feared he would harm himself.

She also asked, around one week ago, that he be hospitalised in a psychiatric ward but Edri was placed on a waiting list.

Earlier this year, an Israeli official said that more than 100,000 Israelis were suffering from "psychological disorders" linked to Israel's ongoing war on Gaza, amid growing public criticism of the government's handling of the military campaign and its impact on society.

Oren Helman, head of the Kesher association, which supports families with special-needs children, told the Hebrew Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper that around 67,000 people had developed mental health issues since 7 October 2023.

He attributed the rising psychological toll to what he called "government failure".

While Israeli forces have killed over 61,700 Palestinians, mostly of whom were women and children, Helman's remarks reflect growing discontent within Israel over the long-term costs of a war increasingly viewed abroad as genocidal.

Israel's indiscriminate onslaught, marked by the destruction of residential areas, hospitals, and schools, has been widely condemned, even as Israeli society continues to rally around its military.

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