Health workers warn of postwar strain as rehabilitation needs surge

Eli Gabai, chairman of the Health Professions Union at the Histadrut, said the number of Israelis needing mental health treatment and rehabilitation has risen sharply since October 7. Speaking at the "State in Post-Trauma" conference organized by ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth with the Histadrut, he said caregivers first focus on a wounded person's physical injuries, but later discover the psychological trauma as well.

"When an injured person comes and we look at him, we focus first of all on the physical damage he is suffering from. Only later do we become exposed to all the mental traumas he went through," Gabai said. He added that the burden also weighs on staff themselves.

"At the end of the day, I take with me the burden I absorbed from that patient and the family," he said. "I cannot disconnect myself. There are many caregivers leaving. This is not the rehabilitation we knew before the war. There are also more complex types of injuries here."