1 in 8 Israeli soldiers in Gaza unable to return to duty due to psychological disorders, study finds
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250509-1-in-8-israeli-soldiers-in-gaza-unable-to-return-to-duty-due-to-psychological-disorders-study-finds/
Tel Aviv University has revealed that one in every eight Israeli soldiers who took part in military operations in Gaza is suffering from psychological disorders that make them unfit to return to service, according to a study published by Haaretz newspaper.
The study indicated that around 12 per cent of reservist soldiers who served in Gaza reported severe symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which significantly affects their ability to continue carrying out military duties.
Researchers involved in the study stressed that the high rate of PTSD among soldiers poses a serious challenge to the Israeli military establishment, especially amid the ongoing conflict and heightened tensions in the region.
Israel is facing a shortage of soldiers willing to take part in its war on Gaza.
Aid groups voice alarm as US pushes Israeli plan for Gaza assistance
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/09/gaza-israeli-aid-plan
Groups say plan to resume limited humanitarian assistance under strict Israeli rules ‘risks enabling war crimes’
Aid groups have voiced alarm at US moves to pressure them into accepting an Israeli proposal to resume limited humanitarian assistance to the war-ravaged territory under strictly controlled conditions. The Trump administration has attempted to strong-arm international agencies – including the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) – into accepting Israel’s stringent rules for resuming deliveries, according to sources familiar with the discussions and news reports.
“There is a concern that this aid plan risks enabling war crimes related to forced displacement, starvation and internment,” the person said. “This is a scheme to make it seem like this is about aid, but what it’s really about is entrenching military occupation of Gaza.”
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said this week that the Gaza population would be moved “for its own protection” under an intensive new Israeli military offensive. Israeli officials have indicated a plan to concentrate the entire population in the south of the strip.
Opposition has been firm even as some organizations, including World Central Kitchen and the WFP, have admitted that an inability to replenish supplies has left them unable to continue feeding the population. Even if aid is resumed, some groups say, the conditions Israel is stipulating will prevent it reaching many of those in need.
“If you centralize, privatize and militarize aid delivery through this proposed hub model, it means that people will be excluded from getting humanitarian assistance,” said Joseph Belliveau, executive director of MedGlobal, which has been providing medical assistance – including to severely malnourished children – at 16 sites in Gaza.
“People simply won’t be able to come to these distribution sites, either because of fear, logistical constraints, or distance. Even more importantly, many will be reluctant to come to centralized sites that are overseen by armed personnel, and given the way that that Israel has fought this war with incredible numbers of civilian casualties.
“The best thing that the US and Israeli authorities can do is to lift the restrictions and allow us to … work safely [and] protect medical sites [and] humanitarian workers.”
The real issue is both Netanyahu and Trump want the people out of Gaza. This 'aid plan' is simply the next smoke screen like the air drops and the aid pier, distraction while more people are dying from bombs, starvation and disease.
