A groundbreaking new academic study has revealed that more than 1,360 doctors have departed Israel for extended stays abroad since the start of 2023, a brain drain that researchers warn poses severe, long-term risks to the country’s domestic healthcare system.
The study, led by researchers at Israeli academic institutions, tracks physician departures of 12 months or longer projected across the three-year period from 2023 to 2025. Data compiled by the team shows 416 doctors left the country in 2023, followed by 530 departures in 2024, with an initial projected estimate of 419 additional departures in 2025. Combined, the total number of exiting doctors is large enough to staff an entire full-sized hospital, according to the research.
Itai Ater, one of the lead professors behind the study, noted that Israel has been losing some of its most skilled medical professionals since 2023, the year Israel launched its large-scale military campaign in the Gaza Strip. Ater emphasized that the loss of nearly 1,400 physicians has direct, tangible consequences for Israeli patients, stating: “All of us have family members waiting for surgery or other medical care. The departure of nearly 1,400 doctors translates directly into longer wait times, less effective medical care, and ultimately severe harm to our quality of life.”
The report also found that the exit rate is disproportionately high among specialized medical fields, including paediatrics, ophthalmology, dermatology, and otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat care). While the study did not draw an explicit causal connection between the ongoing political and military instability in the region and the growing wave of physician departures, Ater warned that the exodus is already causing measurable harm to Israel’s social and medical infrastructure.
“If this trend continues, heaven forbid, there is growing concern of irreversible damage to Israel’s resilience,” Ater added.
The mass departure of Israeli doctors comes amid a broader crisis for healthcare across the region. The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics has confirmed that at least 1,701 Palestinian health workers have been killed in Israeli military attacks across Gaza between October 2023 and October 2025, devastating the enclave’s already fragile healthcare system.
Internationally, the conflict has also sparked growing professional backlash against Israeli medical institutions. In June 2025, more than 1,150 global health professionals and healthcare organizations signed an open petition calling for a formal boycott of the Israeli Medical Association (IMA), accusing the body of failing to uphold core international medical ethics amid the war in Gaza. The petition also demands that the IMA be suspended from membership in the World Medical Association (WMA), the global governing body for national medical associations.
This reporting is published by Middle East Eye, an independent media outlet focused on original coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa, and surrounding global regions.