Witnessing evil: Moral injury and the struggle with revenge among Israeli reserve soldiers

This study explores the experiences of 20 Israeli reserve soldiers who were assigned to manage the bodies of the victims following Hamas's October 7, 2023, attacks. Although not present during the atrocities, these soldiers became witnesses to their aftermath-encountering mutilated corpses, destroyed homes, and traces of deliberate cruelty. Their testimonies reveal an acute confrontation with human evil. Thematic analysis highlights four interrelated themes: the tension between the urge to know and the need to protect the soul, the recognition of unfathomable cruelty as "pure evil," the destabilization of faith in humanity, and the clash between the desire for revenge and the pull of moral restraint. Central to these accounts is the emergence of moral injury, not only from witnessing atrocity but also from confronting one's own capacity for vengeance. Soldiers often imagined retaliatory acts, only to recoil in fear of "becoming like them." This recognition-that the potential for cruelty exists within oneself-produced profound unease, threatening their moral identity while simultaneously motivating efforts to preserve it. By focusing on this "second circle" of exposure, the study expands the discourse on trauma and moral injury beyond direct victims and perpetrators, showing how indirect encounters with evil fracture moral assumptions and perpetuate cycles of harm. These findings underscore the need to recognize and address revenge-related moral injuries as part of the broader psychological and ethical aftermath of mass violence, with implications for psychosocial care, moral resilience, and public responsibility. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).