Suicide Rates among Israeli Soldiers Doubled in 2014

The number of Israeli soldiers who committed suicide doubled in 2014, latest figures released by the occupation forces on Friday showed.

15 Israeli soldiers took their own lives during the course of 2014, slightly more than double the number of suicides from 2013.

However, the military sources insisted that the war on the besieged Gaza strip did not contribute to the higher number of suicides.Israeli soldiers

“We have not noticed any link between cases of suicide and army operations,” a senior officer in the Personnel Directorate told Israeli media. The office added that the army is “doing all it can” to prevent instances of suicide.

The occupation army Personnel Directorate report indicated that 105 soldiers died during the course of their military service in 2014. Of those, 70 were killed during “operational activities.” Sixty-three soldiers were killed during the latest Israeli offensive on Gaza.

Thirteen soldiers died in civilian traffic accidents and seven others died as a result of various medical ailments, the report added.

Earlier on Thursday, Israeli daily Haaretz reported that four of the soldiers who committed suicide had participated in the Gaza war.

The rise in suicide cases has prompted the Israeli military to check the impact of the Gaza war on the soldiers who took part in it.

“In fact, three soldiers taking their own lives after the operation is significant,” the daily quoted Colonel Keren Ginat, the mental health chief of the Israeli military, as saying.

The Israeli military unleashed aerial attacks on Gaza in early July and later expanded its military campaign with a ground invasion of the Gaza strip. Over 2,130 Palestinians, including around 570 children, lost their lives and some 11,000 were injured in the raids.

Many in Israel believe that the regime has failed to score a clear victory in the offensive.