“Yedioth Ahronoth”: Thousands of ‘Israeli’ Soldiers Suffer Hidden Brain Injuries Amid Inadequate Treatment
By Staff
A subcommittee of the “Knesset’s” Foreign and Security Affairs Committee on military human resources, chaired by MK Eliezer Stern, held a follow-up session on Monday, November 17, 2025, concerning medical treatment for “Israeli” soldiers with head injuries, “Israel’s” daily “Yedioth Ahronoth” [YA] reported.
The session reportedly revealed alarming data about the scale of traumatic brain injuries; many of which remain hidden and undetected in routine imaging scans, raising fears that once fighting ends, efforts to treat these wounded soldiers will decline.
MK Stern opened the session, highlighting the complexities of treating brain injuries and the “risk of memory loss”, warning, “We met for an additional session on head injuries, this time under a kind of ceasefire, but there is a risk that some will be left behind after the war, and that interest in this matter may decline.”
Professor Rachel Grander, director of the Brain Sciences Research Center at Sheba Medical Center at “Tel Hashomer”, presented alarming data during the session illustrating the depth of the problem. Her findings indicate that 7 out of 10 soldiers admitted to Sheba had normal CT scans despite suffering traumatic brain injuries.
Furthermore, 94% of these injuries were caused by blast waves, and 6 out of 10 soldiers evacuated by the Unit 669 to Sheba tested positive for traumatic brain injury in blood tests.
Estimates suggest that thousands of soldiers suffer from hidden traumatic brain injuries, with thousands returning from war with such injuries, most of which remain undiagnosed.
It also appears that around 80% of brain injuries among soldiers do not show up in CT scans of the head, as reported by YA.
Shahar Gezundheit, director and founder of the “Or Society” for brain injury patients and their families, told YA, “Among all military casualties in the war, 70% suffered traumatic brain injuries, and during the war, 400 more brain-injured soldiers were added, receiving no treatment.
“The families of injured face enormous challenges, and our goal is to push for clear national guidelines for treating and rehabilitating brain injuries,” he added, noting, “Today in ‘Israel’, there is no clear standard, and its absence affects the quality of treatment and the ability of the injured and their families to return to their normal lives. It is time for an organized, professional, unified rehabilitation pathway to give brain injury victims what they deserve.”
