Thousands of Israeli soldiers are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or other combat trauma, according to the head of the army’s mental health department.

At least 1,000 of these soldiers have been diagnosed with “acute distress disorder”, department head Colonel Lucian Tatsa-Laur told Israeli newspaper TheMarker.

With the mental health decline, more and more soldiers are refusing to return to the battlefield after being granted temporary leave, a trend that is challenging army operations, said Tatsa-Laur.

“As a psychiatrist, I wish I had a magic wand that could make this whole period disappear,” he said.