Reservist airman who died by suicide in 2024 recognized as fallen soldier, family says

Family of combat navigator Maj. (res.) Asaf Dagan says Defense Ministry finally accepting their demand that he be acknowledged as a PTSD combat casualty, ‘correcting deep injustice’

Maj. (res.) Asaf Dagan, an air force reservist combat navigator who died by suicide in October 2024, has been officially recognized by the IDF and Defense Ministry as a fallen soldier, his family said in a statement Monday.

Dagan was not in active service at the time of his death. According to his family, he suffered from PTSD but would regularly show up for reserve duty.

The ministry had previously refused to recognize him as a fallen soldier.

Dagan’s family, which waged a long legal and public campaign for his recognition, said the decision “corrects a deep injustice.”

“Justice has finally been done,” the family said. “The State of Israel now recognizes our Asaf as he truly was: a combat navigator, officer, paratrooper, reservist, and Israeli hero, who devoted his life to the security of the state with endless dedication, and paid a heavy psychological price as a result of his service.”

“This is a correction of a deep injustice and a clear statement — ​​’moral injury’ in pilots, which leads to the development of post-traumatic stress disorder, is a service injury for all intents and purposes,” the bereaved family said.

“The Defense Ministry’s decision brings belated justice to Asaf and his family, and expresses a clear message: The state’s duty is to recognize the price paid by reserve service members, including pilots and navigators,” the statement said.

“The responsibility lies with the state to do everything to prevent tragic incidents like that of Asaf’s from happening and to ensure that it gives Israel’s heroes the honor they deserve.”

Dagan was a combat navigator in the IAF for 20 years and served in the Second Lebanon War. Before that, he served in the Paratroopers Brigade.

When he was released from duty in the IAF, he served as a reservist in the Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 8200, which required annual service in the reserves.

A key element of the case made by the family was that Dagan had killed himself as he was heading to report for reserve duty.

The call-up notice had been sent to him as a text message rather than in a formal order from the army, according to Hebrew media reports. While the family said that qualified him as an active reservist, the military disagreed.

In December 2024, the High Court of Justice ruled that Dagan should receive a military funeral but still be buried in a civilian cemetery.

His recognition as a fallen soldier came after it was announced in late 2025 that reservists and former conscripts who die by suicide linked to service-related psychological trauma would not automatically be classified as fallen soldiers, with each case instead subject to individual review by the IDF.

A committee, established in August 2025 following the suicide of reservist Roi Wasserstein, found that 15 civilians have died by suicide linked to their military service since the onset of the war triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught.

While IDF casualty data for 2025 indicated a sharp decline in overall active soldier deaths compared to 2024, as fighting in Gaza subsided, suicide figures remained stagnant, with 22 cases ruled or still under investigation as suicides by the end of the year.

That included 12 conscripts, one career service soldier, and nine reservists.