“We opened those body bags, and they weren’t soldiers. They were kids in pajamas. At that moment, you shut down your emotions. You turn into a robot just to do the job and preserve their dignity. But at night, when you get back home and watch your own kids sleeping in bed, that’s when your real war begins.”
— Testimony of Maj. (Res.) A., who served in the IDF body identification unit at Camp Shura.
There are numbers that haven’t stopped bleeding since the massacre: 251 hostages. 1,200 murdered. 964 fallen IDF soldiers. 1,100 orphans.
And then there is another number, one that is almost impossible to fathom: 17,000.
17,000 soldiers and security forces battling PTSD and severe psychological trauma since October 7th.
To understand the sheer scale of this disaster: In the entire 75-year history of Israel—from the War of Independence up until October 7th, the Rehabilitation Department treated roughly 14,000 mental health patients.
In less than three years, 17,000 more were added.
31,000 people walking among us whose bodies are here, but whose souls are trapped back there. Meanwhile, the Rehabilitation Department has just one psychiatrist for every 3,500 trauma victims.
We have one mission: to fight for the soul of every single one of them with hearts full of gratitude.
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