Two female soldiers in the Israeli military have died by suicide this week, bringing the number of active-duty suicides since the start of 2025 to 16, military officials confirmed.
Active-duty Israeli soldiers who have died by suicide since January 2025.
One soldier, a member of the Bardelas battalion stationed near the Egyptian border, died at a military base in southern Israel on the morning of the incident. She was found wounded at the base and later died in hospital, according to the military.
Another female soldier, serving in Israeli Military Intelligence on a secret mission, died by suicide on July 26 at the Glilot base near Ramat Hasharon in central Israel.
The Israeli military police have launched investigations into both incidents, the military said.
According to Haaretz, at least 9 of the 16 suicides since the start of the year involved active or reserve soldiers who had participated in the Gaza war and died while not on duty. The newspaper also reported in a previous investigation that 22 soldiers died by suicide while on duty in 2025, the highest annual rate in the Israeli military in 15 years.
Israeli media have linked the increase in soldier suicides to psychological trauma resulting from the conflict in Gaza, which began on October 8, 2023. Sources differ on how to describe the conflict, with some referring to it as the 'Gaza war' and others as 'attacks within the genocide in Gaza'.
Officials have highlighted the need to increase mental health support services for soldiers.