After Three Years of War, Urgent Mental Health Visits Among Israeli Youth Have More Than Doubled
Psychiatric emergency visits among Israeli children and teenagers have risen 121% compared with before the war, according to Clalit research shared with Al Jazeera on October 9, 2026. In plain terms, that is urgent hospital care for mental health crises, and cases have more than doubled for young people.
The assessment is based on records from about five million Clalit Health Services members. The rise built over time. New anxiety diagnoses rose 45.5% in the first year of the war, and new PTSD diagnoses doubled, according to JNS. PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder, is a lasting stress reaction after trauma. In the second year, psychiatric emergency visits among child and adolescent members rose by 78.3%, according to the Times of Israel. The reports identify children as the hardest-hit group.
The wider picture covers adults as well. The National Mental Health Barometer, conducted by Clalit Health Services' Research Institute and the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute, found one-third of Israelis felt they needed mental health treatment. One in five reported severe problems with daily functioning because of mental health. A separate report found more than one-third of Israelis have shown symptoms of mental health conditions three years after the attack, according to DW.
The data were published as Israel marked three years since the October 7, 2023 attacks. On October 7, 2026, Israelis gathered in silence to mourn the victims, according to Reuters. Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people in attacks on villages and army outposts in southern Israel and took 251 hostages. Reuters has described the assault as the deadliest day in Israel's history.
At least nine Israelis from families directly affected by the October 7 attack joined Israel's election race, Reuters reported on October 5, 2026. Coverage of the three-year mark also includes a different account of loss. Al Jazeera on October 7, 2026 published "Three years of Israel's genocide in Gaza: In numbers," describing three years of attacks on Gaza as killing tens of thousands, destroying homes and collapsing basic services. That framing follows earlier Al Jazeera assessments, including "Forever wars: Israel's cycle of conflict shows no finish line" and "Israel is fractured, isolated after two years of its war on Gaza."
The broader context here is that the domestic effects now show up in clinic use, not only in polls on morale or unity. Psychiatric emergencies in children tend to lag behind strain at home, such as displacement, a parent mobilized for reserve duty, or bereavement. A continued rise into the third year points to repeated exposure over time rather than a single shock.
For policymakers and diplomats considering what comes next, the link between public health and politics deserves attention. Functional problems on this scale can affect the workforce, reserve sustainability, and demand on outpatient and emergency psychiatry. The entry of bereaved families into elections shows grief taking form as political action. Social resilience exists alongside documented illness, especially among minors, and duration itself has become the central fact in public discussion.
