The Israeli army is concealing information about the dismissal of thousands of soldiers from service during the Gaza war due to psychological disorders, Haaretz daily has reported.
The army “does not provide all the data regarding the number of soldiers discharged during the war because of their mental condition,” the newspaper said on Wednesday.
Haaretz said it requested the full data from the army spokesperson in 2025, but the request was rejected on the grounds that it had to be submitted under Israel’s Freedom of Information Law.
The request for full data was formally filed in early June 2025, but the military has yet to respond.
According to the daily, the delay violates the law, which requires authorities to respond to requests within 30 days, with extensions of up to 120 days allowed only under special circumstances.
Haaretz reported that, about a month after the request was submitted, the army said it had received a 30-day extension to respond, but it still had not released the data.
Citing unnamed officers who served in the military’s personnel directorate and the spokesperson’s office, Haaretz said the army tends to delay releasing data that “does not satisfy commanders or serve its objectives.”
A reserve officer in the personnel directorate said there are officers “who know how to manipulate figures and percentages and conceal information that does not satisfy the army.”
“If the army spokesperson needs information to refute a journalistic or political claim, they make every effort to obtain it within hours,” the officer said.
“It is clear the army does not want the public to know the extent of the psychological pressure soldiers are experiencing,” he added.
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‘Soldiers suffer psychological stress’
According to the newspaper, sources in the army’s mental health department believe the military has reasons to avoid publishing data on the phenomenon because of its scale, fearing it could damage public morale.
Haaretz said the Israeli army has been dealing since the start of the war with an unprecedented number of soldiers suffering psychological disorders.
