The Israeli army announced Monday that 600 of its soldiers have been killed since October 7, 2023, the date the war with the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas began in the Gaza Strip. “Nadav Cohen, 20 years old, from Haifa […] fell in combat in the south of the Gaza Strip,” announced the spokesperson for the Israeli army on its official website, bringing to 600 the number of Israeli soldiers killed in Israel and the Palestinian Territories since start of the war.
256 soldiers killed in Gaza
Of the 600 soldiers, at least 256 have been killed in the Gaza Strip since October 27, the start of the ground military operation launched in retaliation for the Hamas attack carried out on October 7 in southern Israel, according to a AFP count based on official Israeli data. More than half of the 600 people who died were killed in the unprecedented Hamas attack in Israel on October 7.
Other soldiers were killed in the occupied West Bank or on the border with Lebanon, where exchanges of fire have been almost daily since October 7. Furthermore, more than 1,523 soldiers have been injured in the Palestinian territory since the start of the ground operation, according to the Israeli army.
The list of “war casualties” published by the Israeli army and listing those who have died since October 7, 2023 includes soldiers and reservists. Israelis who have completed military service, a large part of the Jewish adult population, are required to be in reserves until the age of 40. Some Israelis decide to continue after this age.
Civilians also targeted
At the same time, 169,500 soldiers are under contract (service and professionals). The Hamas attack in Israel on October 7 resulted in the deaths of at least 1,160 people, mainly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data. According to Israel, around 250 people were also kidnapped and 130 of them are still hostages in Gaza, 34 of whom died.
In retaliation, Israel vowed to annihilate Hamas, which it considers a terrorist organization along with the United States and the European Union, and launched an offensive which left 32,782 dead, according to a latest report on Friday. Hamas Ministry of Health.