Israel sees decrease in suicide rate since October 7

Tel Aviv [Israel], August 20 (ANI/TPS): Israel's Ministry of Health released the data on the rate of suicide in Israel, specifically in the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas terror massacre and the ensuing Iron Swords War against Hamas in Gaza.
The Ministry of Health, together with the Mental Health Division and the National Suicide Prevention Council, have been monitoring trends in suicidal behaviour following the events of 10/7/23 in recent months. Despite individual incidents reported in the media and social media, the data indicate a decrease in the rate of suicide cases in Israel between the months of October and December 2023 compared to these months in recent years, including during the years of dealing with the coronavirus.
A similar trend was found in previous periods of dealing with emergency situations in Israel and in the world, and can be explained, among other things, by increased social cohesion during these periods.
Key data: Suicide accounts for about 1 per cent of all deaths among people aged 15 and over in Israel.
In 2020, suicide was the second most common cause of death among young people aged 15-24 when a total of 437 people died from suicide, with an age-standardized rate of 6.4 per 100,000 people (10.4 for men and 2.7 for women).
In the last decade, the suicide rate in Israel was lower than the rate in the early 2000s.
In 2022, 6,861 suicide attempts were recorded in Israel.
Over the past decade, the age-adjusted suicide rate for men was 3.8 times higher than for women.
Compared to other countries - the suicide rate in Israel is ranked the third lowest for men and the sixth lowest for women compared to 33 Western countries. (ANI/TPS)