The IDF Human Resources Subcommittee, headed by MK Elazar Stern (Yesh Atid), discussed today (Tuesday) the IDF's activities to prevent suicides among its members.
Head of IDF Personnel Directorate Brig. Gen. Amir Vadmani said during a Knesset session that there is a rise in suicides in the IDF, but noted it is not enough to qualify as a wave of incidents.
He noted that 54 soldiers have ended their lives since the beginning of 2023. In that year, 17 cases of suicide were recorded in the army; the number rose to 21 in 2024, and in the current year, as of today, 16 cases of soldiers have been known to have taken their own lives.
The Personnel Directorate Head refused the committee chair's and Knesset members' request to present the figure on the number of suicides who ended their lives after their military service and who applied to be recognized as IDF casualties.
MK Stern criticized the refusal. "We have a question, answer it and we can move forward. Do you have the quantity? I'm asking a simple question, and you have this answer."
Chair of the Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Caucus, and initiator of the discussion, MK Keti Shitrit (Likud) was outraged: "It's not reasonable that we don't receive concrete data from the army regarding the scope of requests from soldiers to the military mental health assessment committees. I demand the army establish a committee with powers and goals, that will be transparent to us."