The Israeli army equals 26 years of funerals in just two years: 1,152 dead
The Israeli Ministry of Defense announced on Monday that 1,152 soldiers have been killed since October 7, 2023, noting that more than 40% of them were under the age of 21 and performing their mandatory military service.
In its statement, the ministry added that 141 of the dead were over the age of forty, while the majority were reservists, officers, soldiers who had extended their service, or individuals who had re-enlisted after completing mandatory service.
According to the Jerusalem Post, the army’s statement referred to “all fronts where Israel is currently fighting, as well as every unit connected to the country’s security, including IDF soldiers, Israeli police, the Shin Bet security agency, special operations forces, and readiness teams.”
Loss of government support
On September 25, a group of brothers of fallen soldiers told the Israeli army’s Human Resources Committee, affiliated with the Knesset, that they lacked government support.
Ari Ma’alam, head of the Department of Families, Ceremonies, and Heritage at the Ministry of Defense, spoke about the war’s toll and the sharp increase in the number of bereaved families in the country, stating that “the last two years of war have been like 26 years of work and 26 years of funerals.”
He continued: “We have added more than 6,500 people to the circle of bereavement. We reached a peak of 90 funerals in a single day.”
Two years of war in Gaza have also resulted in damage to or destruction of nearly 70% of buildings throughout the Gaza Strip, according to United Nations data and satellite imagery.
The UN estimates that the damaged buildings include more than 90% of residential units, with 160,000 units completely destroyed and another 276,000 severely or partially damaged.
