{"id":328921,"date":"2026-07-13T07:20:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T07:20:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=328921"},"modified":"2026-07-15T07:40:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T07:40:23","slug":"one-in-four-israelis-using-hard-drugs-amid-gaza-genocide-and-regional-wars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=328921","title":{"rendered":"One in four Israelis using hard drugs amid Gaza genocide and regional wars"},"content":{"rendered":"

Above, samples of MDMA ecstasy pills, a psychoactive drug that Israeli dealers had been prominent in trading and distributing in Europe. Now in what might be seen as a karmic return, the drug is coming back to haunt Israeli society.<\/p>\n

Eli Gejevori \u2013 Middle East Eye July 12, 2026<\/strong><\/h1>\n

One in four Israelis<\/a> now engages in harmful substance use as the psychological fallout from Israel\u2019s genocide<\/a> in Gaza and its expanding wars across the Middle East reshapes daily life, according to research cited by Haaretz.<\/p>\n

The Israeli Centre for Addiction and Mental Health said substance misuse had risen sharply since October 2023, when Israel launched its war on Gaza following the Hamas-led attacks.<\/p>\n

Before the coronavirus pandemic, the rate stood at one in 10 Israelis. It climbed to one in seven during the pandemic before reaching about 25 percent after October 2023.<\/p>\n

The centre found that sedative use had increased by 2.5 times, while the consumption of opiates and stimulants had almost doubled. Alcohol and cannabis use had also risen.<\/p>\n

Among people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, the rate of substance misuse now stands at 54.2 percent.<\/p>\n

Prof Shauli Lev-Ran, the centre\u2019s founder, told Haaretz<\/a>\u00a0that repeated crises had entrenched habits formed during periods of extreme pressure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more stress there is, the more people use,\u201d he said, warning that consumption often continues even after immediate stress levels fall.<\/p>\n

Accounts from users describe ketamine, cocaine, amphetamines, cannabis and prescription sedatives becoming routine tools for enduring missile alerts, funerals, military mobilisation and constant reports of death.<\/p>\n

One man said his drug use escalated as Israel\u2019s wars expanded, describing substances as a way to distance himself from \u201call the blood and death\u201d. Another said people had taken amphetamines during funerals after October 2023.<\/p>\n

Others described taking ketamine before entering bomb shelters or using stimulants to remain productive at work despite sleeplessness and anxiety.<\/p>\n

The increase extends beyond nightlife. Interviewees described open drug use in homes, workplaces, bars and public shelters, while encrypted messaging platforms and digital payments have made substances easier to obtain.<\/p>\n

Dr Roy Zucker, who works in harm reduction, said more than 80 percent of drug-related emergency cases involved a mixture of substances rather than a single drug.<\/p>\n

Palestinian citizens of Israel have also reported turning to drugs as they watch Israel\u2019s destruction of Gaza while facing growing repression at home.<\/p>\n

One Palestinian said people \u201cfell apart\u201d after seeing Palestinians massacred in Gaza, with some choosing drugs because therapy remained inaccessible or unaffordable.<\/p>\n

Lev-Ran warned that Israel\u2019s continuing wars and permanent state of alert could deepen the crisis.<\/p>\n

The prolonged violence, he said, leaves people struggling to return to ordinary life before another attack, mobilisation or military campaign begins.<\/p>\n

Source\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Drug use surges as Israelis struggle to cope psychologically amid unprecedented stresses, as years of conflict take their toll <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39262,"featured_media":328924,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[118,37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-328921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-7-10-gaza-war","category-Israel_Anti-Semitism_Zionism_and_US-UK_allies"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/39262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=328921"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328921\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":328931,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328921\/revisions\/328931"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/328924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=328921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=328921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=328921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}