The nearer Israelis live to the Gaza Strip during war, the more they suffer psychologically and physically from rocket fire, a Tel Aviv University study confirmed.
Researchers equipped nearly 5,000 Israelis with smartwatches and a dedicated mobile application to monitor their mental and physiological indicators during the 11-day war with Hamas in May 2021.
The study found that people living in an area that Israelis refer to as the “Gaza envelope” — populated areas in close proximity to the Hamas-ruled Strip — experienced the greatest quantifiable physiological and mental toll from daily rocket barrages, compared to those living in the center and north of the country. And those living in central Israel quantifiably suffered more than those living in the north.
The findings were recently published in the peer-reviewed journal Communication Medicine.
“For the past two years, we have been running a huge clinical study in which we equipped nearly 5,000 Israelis from all groups in the population with smartwatches and a dedicated application that we developed, through which we monitored their health on a daily basis,” explained Professor Erez Shmueli, one of the Tel Aviv University researchers involved in the study.
The study’s original purpose “was to diagnose diagnose infectious diseases like COVID-19 better and earlier,” Shmueli said. “But in Israel, there is never a dull moment, and it provided us with the first opportunity in history to test the changes in the physiological and mental indicators of civilians during wartime, because shortly after we started the experiment, Israel embarked on ‘Operation Guardian of the Walls.'”
During that conflict, Palestinian terror groups in Gaza fired more than 4,300 rockets at Israel, killing 14 Israeli civilians and three foreign nationals.
The researchers found that Israelis living in the Gaza periphery spent more time on their screens compared to residents of the center and the north—6.2 hours per day versus 5.3 in the center and 5 in the north. Greater changes in mood and stress were also observed in Israelis in proximity to the Strip, as was less physical activity and sleep.
The study also noted that women and young people deviated more from the normal compared to men and adults.
Immediately after the war ended, all of the indicators returned on average to previous levels. The researchers said this “demonstrates the mental resilience of Israelis.”
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