Since October 7th, Israel lost 1,152 soldiers, police officers

Nearly half of those killed were soldiers under 21 performing mandatory service.

By World Israel News Staff

New figures released by the Defense Ministry ahead of the two-year anniversary of the October 7 massacres and subsequent war revealed the staggering toll paid by Israel’s security forces since the bloodiest day in the nation’s history.

According to the ministry, a total of 1,152 IDF soldiers, reservists, Shin Bet agents, police officers, and other security personnel, including members of local emergency response squads, have died since October 7.

The statistics include those killed in action — the majority of the deaths, though the ministry did not provide an exact number — along with personnel killed in operational accidents, by friendly fire, or through suicide.

Officials said most of those killed fell in battle in the Gaza Strip, Judea and Samaria, and in Lebanon.

“The State of Israel bears a heavy price — the history of our country has been written in the blood of our sons and daughters,” said Aryeh Moalem, who heads the Defense Ministry division that supports bereaved families.

“The department’s employees see their work as a mission and continue to commemorate the memory of the fallen, preserve their heritage for future generations, and accompany the bereaved families with emotional and welfare support,” Moalem added.

Slightly more than 40 percent of the fallen were under the age of 21, meaning they were soldiers performing their mandatory military service rather than senior officers or reservists.

More than 200 fallen service members have been buried on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, Israel’s largest military cemetery, where many of the Jewish state’s leaders — including former prime ministers — are also laid to rest.

Those not buried on Mount Herzl were interred in 264 military and civilian cemeteries throughout Israel.

The ministry noted that the death toll has been so great that existing military cemeteries were expanded and new burial grounds for security personnel were established.

Additionally, the bodies of eight soldiers were repatriated abroad for burial, according to the Defense Ministry.

The numbers of bereaved family members have spiked accordingly, with some 351 widows and widowers losing a spouse, 885 children losing a parent, and 1,973 parents and 3,481 siblings left behind.