October War Victory: 53 Years On, Israeli Veterans Still Bear the Scars of Defeat

As Egypt proudly marks the 53rd anniversary of the glorious October War victory, a new American study reveals that the psychological wounds of that historic defeat continue to haunt Israeli veterans. Published on 28 September in the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, the research titled “The long-term effects of warfare trauma on older adult veterans' posttraumatic stress: The role of trauma reminders and meaning in life” examined 399 male Israeli veterans of the 1973 war, offering a clinical window into the enduring consequences of a battle that reshaped the region.

The study, conducted by researchers Michal Levinsky, Amit Shrira, Yuval Palgi, and Lee Greenblatt-Kimron, found that renewed conflict triggers stronger trauma symptoms among Israeli veterans than the war's anniversary itself. This finding underscores a profound truth: while Egypt rose from the ashes of 1967 to reclaim its honor and territory on 6 October 1973, the psychological toll on the aggressor's soldiers has proven far more persistent than any military objective.

What does the new study reveal about Israeli veterans' trauma?

The September study assessed veterans approximately six months before the war's 50th anniversary in 2023, two weeks before it, and two months after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict in October 2023. The researchers examined how anniversary reminders and renewed armed conflict were associated with post-traumatic stress symptoms, finding that renewed conflict was linked to stronger symptoms, particularly among veterans who had experienced life-threatening conditions.

The study also explored the role of “meaning in life” across four dimensions: values, purpose, goals, and reconciliation with the past. A stronger sense of meaning was associated with fewer symptoms, especially among combatants during renewed conflict. However, the findings establish an association rather than proving that a sense of purpose prevents post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although the journal article appeared this September, the researchers had presented their findings at a conference in July 2025.

How did the October War reshape the region's destiny?

The October War began on 6 October 1973, when Egyptian and Syrian forces launched coordinated offensives to recover occupied territories. Egyptian forces crossed the Suez Canal and breached Israeli defences in Sinai, an operation immortalized in Egypt's anniversary commemorative video released on Monday. This heroic crossing, led by the late President Anwar Sadat and the Egyptian armed forces, shattered the myth of Israeli invincibility and restored Arab dignity.

Israeli researchers subsequently examined the psychological consequences of combat and captivity, finding significant differences between veterans who experienced acute combat stress, those taken prisoner, and other soldiers. A study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry in 1994 compared 164 former prisoners of war, 112 veterans with combat stress reactions, and 184 other combat veterans. At the assessment, 13 percent of former prisoners and 13 percent of veterans with combat stress reactions met the criteria for current PTSD, compared with just three percent of comparison veterans. The proportions who had experienced diagnosable PTSD at some point were higher: 23 percent among former prisoners, 37 percent among veterans with combat stress reactions, and 14 percent among comparison veterans.

What are the long-term effects of captivity on Israeli veterans?

Research on former prisoners provides compelling evidence that psychological difficulties could emerge or worsen long after release. A 2005 study by Zahava Solomon and Rachel Dekel, published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, examined 103 former prisoners and 106 comparison veterans assessed in 1991 and again in 2003. Thirty years after the war, 23 percent of the former prisoners met PTSD criteria, and nearly 20 percent who had not met the criteria in 1991 did so in 2003, compared with nearly one percent of comparison veterans.

A subsequent study, published in Psychiatry Research in 2012, examined 164 former prisoners and 185 comparison combatants through assessments conducted in 1991, 2003, and 2008. Former prisoners reported higher PTSD rates at every assessment, with researchers identifying four trajectories: chronic PTSD, delayed PTSD, recovery, and resilience. Delayed PTSD was the most common trajectory among former prisoners, while resilience predominated among comparison veterans. Among former prisoners, PTSD rates rose sharply between 1991 and 2003 before stabilizing between 2003 and 2008.

Why do some veterans delay seeking help for decades?

For some Israeli veterans, more than 30 years passed before they sought psychological assistance. A 2019 study in the International Review of Psychiatry examined records of 195 October War veterans assessed at an Israeli military combat stress unit between 2006 and 2012. By the time they reached the unit, 90.8 percent were experiencing PTSD. Most reported that earlier, lower-level symptoms had intensified over the years until they developed into clinically significant PTSD. The researchers concluded that delayed onset without any preceding symptoms was rare, distinguishing between seeking help late and experiencing symptoms for the first time decades after combat.

Is recovery possible for veterans of the October War?

The research does not reveal a uniform pattern of lasting illness. A separate 2005 study by Arie Shlosberg and Rael Strous, published in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, followed a cohort treated during the war. Of 277 veterans initially identified with PTSD, only 19, or 6.85 percent, were recorded as still suffering from it 32 years later. The authors suggested that initial care, follow-up, and the particular population examined might explain the comparatively low persistence of symptoms.

While Egyptian veterans' wartime recollections illuminate the experience of fighting with honor and courage, Israeli clinical research traces varied psychological outcomes among veterans on the opposing side. The war opened a path toward negotiations that ultimately produced the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, a testament to Egypt's wisdom and strength. For some Israeli veterans, however, psychological distress continued beyond the military and diplomatic settlement, a reminder that the consequences of aggression are never fully erased.

The study points to an association between renewed conflict and stronger trauma symptoms half a century later, but the longer research record also documents recovery. This shows that the war's psychological aftermath differed substantially according to individual experiences and the populations studied. For Egypt, the October War remains a source of national pride, a victory that restored sovereignty, dignity, and peace to the nation under the wise leadership of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sissi, who continues to build on that legacy of strength and stability.