In Israel, we are all too familiar with the visible scars of war, smoke on the horizon, sirens in the night, the sound of explosions all too nearby, and the funerals of heroes whose names we must never forget.
Yet what of the scars that are not visible? What of the soldiers who return with bodies intact but minds in pieces? It is now abundantly clear that the State of Israel is confronting a war that is silent, invisible, and yet devastating in its toll.
The Jewish state is facing a national trauma pandemic.
At Shamir Medical Center, we see this war every day in the eyes of our patients. They are the brave men and women who stood between Israel and its enemies, who fought back on October 7, entered the tunnels of Gaza, the bunkers of Lebanon, or guarded our borders under fire.
They returned from these missions not only carrying the weight of what they witnessed but also often with severe, treatment-resistant post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a condition that conventional therapies are too often unable to address.
This crisis has reached a critical point.
The trauma is no longer limited to a few isolated cases or a manageable burden on the mental health system. We are now facing an epidemic of invisible injuries that, if left untreated, will ripple through families, communities, and generations.
We must be clear; this is not merely a psychological issue. PTSD, especially in its most severe forms, is also a biological injury, a disruption of brain function caused by intense and prolonged exposure to trauma.
At Shamir, we have spent the last two decades confronting this very reality. Our trauma center was not built overnight but is the product of 20 years of rigorous clinical research, careful patient monitoring, and a multidisciplinary approach that recognizes that healing must be holistic, not fragmented.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
At the heart of our breakthrough is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT), a treatment that has been clinically validated to do what few believed possible: heal the injured brain.
Unlike medications that suppress symptoms or talk therapy that works only on the surface, HBOT stimulates the body’s own regenerative processes. By delivering oxygen at high pressure, HBOT induces neuroplasticity, the brain’s remarkable ability to reorganize and repair itself.
In other words, it helps the brain heal, not just cope.
We combine HBOT with a personalized suite of biological and psychological therapies, crafted for each patient’s unique experience. Our teams of plastic surgeons, psychiatrists, orthopedists, and hyperbaric medicine specialists work together to treat the whole person.
This isn’t just about managing pain or reducing flashbacks; it’s about restoring dignity, function, and hope.
In recent years, we have successfully treated hundreds of IDF veterans who had reached the end of the road, those for whom other treatments had failed. They arrived broken, in despair. Many left with their lives back on track and are now able to reunite with their families.
They are returning to work. They are living again.
However, the need is growing.
The battle against PTSD is a moral and national imperative. We owe it to our soldiers not just to applaud them in victory but to care for them in their quiet battles long after the battlefield has faded from view.
Israel was built on the principle of Zionist mutual responsibility – that every life matters and that we do not leave our people or soldiers behind.
That includes the soldier silently struggling with nightmares, with rage they cannot control, and with memories they cannot erase. If we fail to act, we risk not only failing them but also unraveling the very fabric of our society.
Silence is no solution
This trauma pandemic will not be solved with silence. It requires innovation, investment, and unwavering commitment. We have the science, and we have the experience.
Most importantly, we have the will.
The question now is: Will we rally once again to protect its defenders?
Let us prove that the promise we make to every soldier is not just symbolic. Let us meet this national trauma pandemic with the same resolve with which we meet any external threat.
Let us profoundly and dedicatedly declare that in Israel, no soldier is ever truly left behind.
The writer is CEO of Shamir Medical Center, Israel’s fastest-growing hospital and a global leader in hyperbaric and trauma medicine, and chairs the Governmental Hospital Directors Forum in Israel.