Remembering IDF soldiers who lost their lives to hidden wounds - opinion

As I am watching and hearing the loud noise from an IDF helicopter flying above my house, two names that are deeply embedded in my heart come to mind - Alex and William. I will explain why in a moment.

 I continued to watch the helicopter as it traveled over the beautiful Sea of Galilee, where jet skis and speed boats race around on the lake as people enjoy vacation time in Israel, instead of being hunkered down in bomb shelters. 

 For a brief while, it looked like that would be our reality again, as we were out shopping and mentally preparing ourselves for another war with the evil regime in Iran. However, once again at the last minute, the American president called off a major strike, which reportedly would have included Israel. 

 So once again it was a very surreal reality for almost all of us living in Israel, not knowing what tomorrow would bring. 

 As my time of staying here in the Galilee is coming to an end, I am thankful for this time that has allowed me to continue healing and recovering from so much trauma and death.

Two souls tormented by war 

And yet, my heart once again is torn and hurting from receiving more devastating news.  The names I mentioned above - William and Alex- were two young Jewish Americans who, out of love for their people and Israel, traveled alone to Israel to enlist in the IDF.

 Both of them fought bravely for the Jewish Homeland against her enemies, it brought scars and traumas so deep, that out of the desperation and trouble in their souls, they both ended their lives after leaving Israel and returning to America. This news is absolutely devastating!  

 Alex Miller was a 23-year-old man was moderately wounded in one of the many the heinous terror attacks we had in Israel! It happened in a 2022 car-ramming attack near the Nebi Mousa training facility while he waited with his fellow soldiers. 

Alex later returned to military service alongside his comrades in the Kfir Battalion after undergoing a painful and difficult rehabilitation process. 

 His family and friends explained how Alex fought deep trauma for a long time that remained with him since that horrible terror attack that wounded him. In addition to this, there was the emotional pain and trauma that followed from the loss of his close friend, Noam Shemesh, who was killed in battle in the Gaza Strip.

Alex later returned to America, where he tragically ended his life. May he rest in peace and may his memory forever be a blessing!

William Shakin immigrated to Israel following the October 7 massacre and bravely enlisted in the IDF through the Mahal program for overseas volunteers. He served as a combat soldier in the Golani Brigade’s 13th Battalion in Gaza, where he lost dear friends fighting alongside him, which left him deeply traumatized.

During his service, Shakin lived at HaBayit Shel Benji, which provides housing for lone soldiers. After he completed his service, he returned to America, where he tragically ended his life. May he rest in peace and may his memory forever be a blessing!

 My heart aches for the families of Alex and William, because there are just no words I can find to comfort them. 

Suicides and suicide attempts among IDF soldiers and veterans have surged since the October 7, 2023, onslaught and massacre against Israel and the subsequent wars in Gaza and Lebanon.  
At least 60 active and reserve soldiers died by suicide between October 2023 and April of this year, including 10 lives lost in this year alone.

279 active-duty soldiers attempted suicide in a short period

A report published by the Knesset Research and Information Center last October found that between January 2024 and July 2025, 279 active-duty soldiers attempted to take their own lives. I must admit that all of this tragic information is making me weep deeply. 

 According to the report, combat soldiers made up 78 percent of all suicide cases in Israel during 2024, a sharp rise from previous years. The rate hovered between 42% and 45% from 2017 to 2022, and stood at just 17% in early 2023.

 We can't even begin to imagine what our precious soldiers have endured in facing these savages from Hamas and Hezbollah - year after year -fighting this demonic evil that has attacked us.

 The toll from Israel just defending her nation and people, with so many soldiers killed in battle, thousands of soldiers losing their limbs, or thousands of soldiers permanently injured in varying degrees, including soldiers with PTSD, is staggering.

 As we now see some of them being so deeply traumatized, they see no other way than to end their lives; just how much is a nation supposed to take? And on top of all of this, Israeli soldiers are being hunted around the world when they go on some much needed vacation, its despicable!

 On top of that, we continue to get heartbreaking news from the battlefields: Two reservist soldiers were just killed, and four were seriously wounded after being hit by an explosive device in the southern Lebanon town of Majdal Zoun. 

 The slain troops were named as: Maj. (res.) Harel Birenstock, 34, a company commander from Nokdim; and Sgt. Maj. (res.) Tamir Vaknin, 33, from Eilat. Both served in the 55th Paratroopers Brigade’s 2855th Battalion.

May their memory be a blessing

May they rest in peace and may their memory be a blessing.

It's just devastating; our hearts are breaking for their families.

 The Jewish Nation continues to bury its sons, either killed in battle or killed by their own hands after experiences of unimaginable horror and trauma; it shatters our hearts!

 However, here is some good news and some justice in the midst of so much heartbreak: the Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet have acknowledged that a special operation has been established with a dedicated unit named “Nili” to hunt down and kill every single despicable terrorist involved in the October 7, 2023, massacre on Israel.

Speaking to Channel 12 news, some of the Nili officers openly described their mission for the first time, detailing who has been targeted and the means used to locate and kill them.

According to the report, 2,800 people on Nili’s list have been killed, including the 1,200 terrorists killed by Israeli security forces in southern Israel during the horrific October 7th onslaught.

Among those eliminated have been the terrorists who kidnapped 85-year-old Yaffa Adar, 12-year-old Yagil Yaakov, Yarden Bibas, and Avinatan Or.

The hate is not limited to our precious soldiers only; we see over and over how Israelis are attacked while being on vacation around the world, just like what just happened to an Israeli mother and daughter vacationing on Thailand’s Koh Phangan Island.

They went to visit a waterfall where they encountered a man who asked where they were from.

 After the daughter replied that they were from Israel, the man began confronting them over the war in Gaza, telling them, “I don’t like what Israel is doing there,” and “I’m against violence,” and then he launched a brutal physical assault on both women. 

This evil attacker beat the mother, repeatedly kicking her and striking her in the head until she reportedly lost consciousness. When the daughter ran to help her mother, she was brutally assaulted also.

The mother underwent emergency treatment for internal bleeding in her head and surgery on her ear. She is expected to have another operation, while her daughter underwent surgery to repair injuries to her nose.

This is just one of the horrific attacks we see on Israelis travelling around the world, its horrifying.

What has the world come to? But we know that a lot of this goes back to the lies and nasty propaganda that Hamas sends out from the Gaza Strip, and then it is broadcast by mainstream media without any filter to the world.

 This includes the never-ending lies about starvation and genocide in Gaza (which never happened), but the media ate these lies, and they ran with it, as if it was the truth.

 On the “consumer side” of mainstream media, it makes ignorant people around the world believe these outrageous lies by Hamas and serves to build up an unprecedented hatred towards the Jewish people and Israel.

It is for that reason, when hateful people now encounter Israelis citizens or Jews around the world, the hunt is on and they are being attacked in the most brutal ways.

 At the same time, we continue to bury our sons and daughters in Israel, and others find themselves being discriminated against, boycotted, and marginalized, while the world looks away in shameful silence. 

These enemies can only spread lies, hate, and propaganda against the one nation they can't defeat militarily or politically, because Israel is divinely protected by the One Who created the Holy Land.

As for me, this is why I am here; this is why I endure the pain, the trauma, and the tears, because I will not stay silent!

I will continue to cry for each and every one of them, and share their names and stories with the world and stand united and mourn with all of their families!

Today we honor Alex, William, Tarel, and Tamir!

How precious you were, you all died so young not getting to live a long and good life, my heart is just breaking.