[ON SWORDS WAR - THE BATTLE FOR THE SOUL].

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: The Iron Swords War broke out with an unprecedented attack of brutality, leaving soldiers, civilians, residents of the Israeli settlements surrounding Gaza, and participants of the Nova Festival severely traumatized. Israel was exposed to loss, bereavement, sexual abuse, kidnapping of civilians and soldiers, including children, women, and the elderly. Identification of bodies to be brought to honorable burial, while simultaneously organizing for combat and the ongoing war, resulted in physical and mental injuries. This prolonged war has also led to the evacuation of communities from the areas surrounding Gaza and from the cities and settlements on Israel's northern borders to safer locations, causing them to be displaced persons in their own country. At the outbreak of the war, the public mental health system was at an unprecedented low, lacking professional therapists, with long waiting lists for treatment across all domains of mental health care. Psychiatric hospitals, health funds' mental health clinics and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the military mental health care system have been working tirelessly to train therapists to seek more effective trauma treatment and to maximize treatment capacity. The activities resulting from this intensive effort, are reflected in the articles in this special issue. This issue, is primarily dedicated to saluting the efforts of mental health care providers, while looking forward and understanding that the mental damage from the war, the displacement, the captivity, the sexual abuse, and more, will need to be addressed and treated for many years to come. Many works were submitted for this special issue, and the number of articles accepted were beyond the normal range of the issue. We could not have faced the challenge of handling these materials without the support (and tireless leadership) of Mrs. Rena Kurs, to whom we are deeply grateful. We all look forward to the return of all the hostages and a return to focusing on health and normality.