The IDF's policy is clear: while soldiers are in
uniform, they're the military's responsibility. The day after? Not anymore.
Soldiers who take their own lives after discharge because of their service are
not recognized as fallen and do not receive a military funeral. Six bereaved
families tell Haaretz how it feels to be left outside the gate
Tom Levinson, Haaretz, 19/2/2026
It happened late at night, after another tense, even
turbulent, day. Roi Wasserstein, a reservist who served as a combat medic, was
speaking to his company commander, whom he had known since they were both
conscripts. Perhaps they discussed some of the scenes they had witnessed;
perhaps they shared fears of what was to come. Details of the conversation
remain elusive, like a black box no one will ever find.
Around 2 A.M., Wasserstein retired to his creaky bed.
It was the night of October 10, 2023. He was in a staging area near the Gaza
Border.
He slept for about three hours. At dawn, comrades woke
him. Come quickly, the commander needs medical attention, they said. "He's
been shot." In truth, he had shot himself. The commander, a doctor at
Schneider Medical Center, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Wasserstein told his family nothing, kept it to
himself. They only heard about it later. "Everything is fine," he
answered laconically when confronted. One year and nine months later, in July
2025, his father found him in his room, dead by gunshot. Roi Wasserstein was
24.
Only during the Shiva did his family learn of other
secrets he had carried from the war. "His friends told us he was one of
the first to arrive at the Givati Brigade armored personnel carrier
incident" – in which 11 soldiers were killed – "and that he personally
pulled out the bodies, or what was left of them, from the vehicle," his
brother Tom says. Soldiers who were present at the scene told Haaretz of images
they will never forget ("ashes, body parts, charred flesh, a smell that
won't let go").
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