'An emotional roller coaster': How an Israeli mother navigates her husband's reserve duty

Esther, an Israeli mother, describes the emotional toll of her husband Yonah's repeated reserve duty call-ups during nearly three years of war, including navigating pregnancy, childbirth, and raising two young children while he serves in Gaza.

Esther, a 36-year-old Israeli mother originally from New York, describes the emotional roller coaster of her husband Yonah's repeated reserve duty call-ups since October 7, 2023. She was 26 weeks pregnant with their first daughter Hallel when war broke out. Yonah, called up to serve with the elite paratrooper unit 551, spent nearly three years going in and out of Gaza. Esther experienced severe anxiety, guilt, and a traumatic birth at an overloaded Ichilov Hospital, where she labored for 15 hours, eight of them standing in the rain without a bed. She required reparative surgery and could not hold her baby for four months. The family moved from Tel Aviv to Ra'anana for support from in-laws. Esther also had a second child, Mia, during this period. The article, based on an interview, highlights the personal toll of prolonged reserve duty on families.