Article - “My Son Sleeps with His Shoes On”: The Hidden Mental Health Crisis Among Israeli Children

Since the October 7 massacres and Operation Lion’s Awakening, Israel’s children have been growing up in a permanent state of alert. Their PTSD symptoms are surging — and so are the warning signs from psychologists.

Since October 7, 2023 — when Hamas militants carried out the deadliest terror attack in Israel’s history — and through the massive Iranian missile assault during Operation Am Kelavi (Lion’s Awakening) in June 2025, Israeli children have been repeatedly exposed to life-threatening events. More than ever before, trauma has entered the everyday fabric of civilian life.

According to a study published in April 2025 in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma, the psychological toll on children is now deeply alarming. Researchers found that 69% of children aged 3 to 7 are exhibiting signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as are 49% of children aged 8 to 12. Among their mothers, 32% are also suffering from PTSD symptoms, highlighting how the trauma often impacts entire family systems (Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma, 2025).

Behind these statistics are real families in distress.

“My six-year-old sleeps with his shoes on,” says Yael, a mother of three in Herzliya.“He’s afraid there’ll be an alert in the middle of the night and we’ll have to run. That’s how he’s learned to fall asleep.”

Psychologists and teachers across the country report a growing wave of behavioral and emotional symptoms: panic attacks, school refusal, speech delays, aggression, and obsessive war-themed drawings. Even in regions far from the front, the emotional aftershocks are strong. In Ashdod and Tel Aviv, several school principals say they are seeing students “shut down completely.”

“This Is an Entire Generation in Survival Mode”

Dr. Michal Shaked, a child psychologist at Schneider Children’s Medical Center, warns that we are now witnessing a shift from acute trauma to chronic psychological reprogramming.

“This is no longer just post-trauma in individual children,” she explains.“ It’s an entire generation being neurologically conditioned to live in a state of constant alert” (Shaked, personal interview, June 2025).

The June 2025 missile and drone attacks, launched by Iran between June 13 and 24, only deepened the sense of vulnerability. More than 550 ballistic missiles and 1,000 drones were fired at Israel in less than two weeks. Many reached deep into the country’s center, forcing evacuations and hitting sensitive sites such as the Soroka Medical Center in Be’er Sheva (Ministry of Health, 2025).

Although civil defense systems minimized casualties, the psychological damage was widespread. Families living in temporary housing report persistent stress, with children refusing to sleep alone, clinging to parents, or developing psychosomatic symptoms like stomach pain and headaches.

A Trauma That Could Be Inherited

Scientists increasingly warn that trauma may not stop with the current generation. Research conducted by Dr. Rachel Yehuda and her team in 2014 found that survivors of the Holocaust passed down measurable changes in stress-related gene expression to their children. Specifically, methylation patterns of the FKBP5 gene, involved in regulating stress hormones, were altered — suggesting a biological mechanism for intergenerational trauma (Yehuda et al., 2014).

Israeli clinicians are now applying this lens to today’s children. What if trauma from rocket fire, evacuations, and fear becomes biologically embedded? What if we fail to stop the chain reaction?

“We cannot afford to assume this will go away on its own,” says Dr. Shaked.“If we don’t intervene, today’s trauma could shape the bodies and minds of tomorrow’s citizens — and even their children.”

What Can Be Done?

Israelis are known for their resilience — but resilience alone is not enough. Mental health professionals, educators, and NGOs are calling for immediate structural action:

1. Psychologists in every school: Not just on-call during war, but as permanent staff equipped to support long-term recovery.

2. Training for teachers and parents: To detect early trauma signs and respond effectively.

3. Therapeutic spaces: Child-friendly environments where emotions can be expressed through play, conversation, and creativity.

4. Family-focused therapy: Recognizing that when a parent suffers, the child suffers too.

5. Public campaigns to de-stigmatize therapy: Encouraging families to seek help without shame.

   
   

Organizations like NATAL, ERAN, and Meshi are already doing critical work, but they are overburdened. In southern communities like Netivot and Sderot, waiting times for trauma therapy now exceed four months (Ministry of Health, 2025).

Let Them Sleep

The sirens may quiet, but the fear remains. And if we don't act now, the cost will be measured not only in broken childhoods — but in an entire generation raised in survival mode.

True resistance means defending more than our borders. It means defending our children’s right to feel safe, to dream, to grow up whole.

Let them sleep without fear. Let them take off their shoes.

About the author Delphine Miller is a writer and communications professional based in Israel. With a background in journalism and marketing, she covers Israeli news with a focus on society, politics, trauma, and resilience. Her work combines strategic insight, narrative clarity, and a deep commitment to truth.