News - Middle East: An Israeli military reservist has been found dead at his home in the southern part of the occupied territories, as suicide cases among Israeli army personnel continue to increase at an "alarming" rate.

Israeli media reported Monday that the soldier committed suicide at his home in the western Negev.

The reservist was identified as Ariel Meir Taman, who had previously been part of the Military Rabbinate, where he worked in a unit for the identification of dead soldiers.

One of Taman’s acquaintances told Hebrew media that the reservist “saw very difficult things in his position in recent years.”

Military police have reportedly opened an investigation into the circumstances of his death.

Channel 12 of Israeli television reported that Taman is the 48th Israeli soldier to have committed suicide since October 2023, when the regime launched its genocidal war on the besieged Gaza Strip.

The channel reported an alarming rise in suicides among soldiers who took part in offensives in Gaza and southern Lebanon. 

The rise in suicide cases has been due to profound psychological trauma and exposure to unspeakable violence amid the regime's genocide in Gaza. 

Walla News reported that the Jerusalem Institute of Justice appealed to the Knesset (parliament) to urgently open a debate on the issue.

Despite attempts by the Israeli army to censor reports of suicides among its soldiers, evidence continues to surface of a sharp increase in such cases.

The army has reportedly been burying some of these soldiers without military funerals or public announcements, in a desperate effort to conceal the extent of the crisis.

Three Israeli soldiers dismissed, jailed for refusing to return to Gaza

Separately, the Israeli army said that it had dismissed and jailed three soldiers for refusing to return to fighting in the besieged Palestinian territory. 

A military statement said the three Israeli soldiers were jailed for a period of 7 to 12 days in a military prison.

According to Israeli broadcaster KAN, the dismissed soldiers cited a “deep internal crisis” as the reason for their refusal to return to fighting in Gaza.

KAN cited one of the soldiers’ mothers as saying that they had fought inside Gaza for months and lost several comrades and were exposed to “harsh scenes and tragic experiences”.

This is not the first time Israeli soldiers have refused to join combat in the besieged strip.

In recent months, a growing manpower shortage has prompted the Israeli army to recall the soldiers diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The Israeli military says that 895 soldiers have been killed since the onset of its ground offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory in October 2023. Independent media reports indicate the actual death toll is likely much higher.

Source: Press TV