42% of Israeli student reservists in army consider leaving school: Poll

By Zain Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) - A recent opinion poll revealed that 42% of Israeli university students serving as reservists in the army are considering dropping out of school due to the deterioration of their psychological condition as a result of the ongoing devastating war on Gaza.

“More than 60% of the students said their psychological state had worsened since the outbreak of war on Oct. 7, 2023,” the Israeli channel 13 said on Sunday, quoting the poll results.

“About 40% of them are thinking about withdrawing from their studies due to the effects of the war,” the poll added, noting that the percentage among student reserve soldiers reached 42%.

The latest poll, conducted by the Association of Male and Female Students in Israel on a sample of 7,350 participants, revealed that 48% of students said “they had received or might receive psychological help in the future due to the war.”

Israel launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7 that has killed at least 28,064 Palestinians and injured 67,611 following a surprise attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas. Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi