Newz'Strategic threat': Israel faces healthcare brain drain as 1,369 doctors leave in three years At least 50 Israeli physicians left the country in the first 15 months after the Hamas-led attacks on 7 October 2023 and Israel's subsequent genocide in Gaza, a new survey shows. The survey, which was conducted by the Israeli Medical Association (IMA) in 32 hospitals and medical centres across Israel, showed a trend of physicians emigrating out of Israel, with Israeli health officials warning of the grave consequences this trend could have on Israel's public health system. The IMA published the survey during an emergency meeting on physician emigration, following a recent Tel Aviv University report that found that between 2023 and 2025, 1,369 physicians left Israel for more than a year.
According to the IMA, the professional organisation representing most physicians in Israel, in addition to the 50 physicians it found left the country, another 53 physicians went to specialisations abroad and did not return to Israel within the agreed-upon timeframe. Israeli news website Ynet, which published the survey on Monday, reported that certain medical fields were particularly hurt by the emigration of physicians, citing, among others, gastroenterology, oncology, internal medicine and psychiatry. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); According to the report, the four major reasons for physicians to leave the country were the security situation in Israel, personal reasons, seeking professional promotions and better pay.
However, an Israeli psychiatrist said at the conference that higher salaries are at the bottom of emigrant physicians' wish list. Instead, the unstable security situation, concern for their children's future, work fatigue and broader professional options were the primary reasons for the exodus, the psychiatrist said at the conference.
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