Five IOF soldiers killed today; total rises to 425 since Oct. 7

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
9 Dec 2023 23:12
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Israeli media say 5,000 Israeli soldiers have been wounded since October 7, 2,000 of whom have been officially labeled as disabled.

Israeli occupation soldiers drive their military vehicle next to a greenhouse near the border with the Gaza Strip on December 9, 2023. (JACK GUEZ/AFP)

Israeli media outlets reported on Saturday that the number of Israeli occupation soldiers killed since the beginning of the ground invasion of the Gaza Strip has risen to 102.

This comes after the Israeli occupation military confirmed on Saturday the death of five soldiers in Gaza, including four in Khan Younis, knowing that the fifth had been severely wounded on October 7.

Master Sgt. (res.) Liav Atiya, 25, of the 55th Brigade’s 6623rd Battalion, from occupied Beer al-Sabe'; Master Sgt. (res.) Omri Ben Shachar, 25, of the 55th Brigade’s 6623rd Battalion, from "Givatayim"; Staff Sgt. Jonathan Dean Jr Haim, 25, of the Combat Engineering Corps’ 603rd Battalion, from "Ramat Gan"; and Sgt. Maor Cohen Eisenkot, 19, of the Golani Brigade’s 12th Battalion, from "Eilat".

The fifth soldier was Staff Sgt. Haim Meir Edan, 20, of the Golani Brigade’s 12th Battalion, from "Rehovot".

Israeli media mentioned that one of the killed soldiers is the nephew of former IOF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, whose son was also killed a couple of days ago. This brings the total number of Israeli occupation soldiers killed since the start of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood to 425.

The media reported that the occupation military allowed the publication of news of 13 soldiers receiving serious injuries in Gaza, in addition to two other soldiers seriously wounded in an anti-tank missile strike at the Palestinian-Lebanese border in the "Matat" area.

The Israeli website Walla highlighted that 5,000 soldiers have been wounded since October 7, 2,000 of whom have been officially labeled as disabled.

Each day, approximately 60 new injured Israeli soldiers are admitted to the rehabilitation department, which supports the wounded from the Israeli army and reserve forces. This figure does not account for those not in need of rehabilitation, as reported by "Israel's" Ynet news… pic.twitter.com/p08pGh3vyg
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) December 9, 2023

Each day, approximately 60 new injured Israeli soldiers are admitted to the rehabilitation department, which supports the wounded from the Israeli military and reserve forces. This figure does not account for the regularly wounded, as reported by "Israel's" Ynet news website.

Limor Luria, the head of the rehabilitation department at the Israeli Ministry of Security, stressed that they have never been through anything even similar to this, adding that more than 58% of the wounded who are taken in by the ministry have sustained severe injuries to their hands and feet, including injuries that require amputations.

About 12% are internal injuries: spleen, kidney, laceration of internal organs, Luria specified.

There are also head and eye injuries, and about 7% suffer from mental illnesses, a number that is expected to skyrocket.

In a similar context, the chairman of the Israeli occupation military's Disabled People's Organization, Attorney Idan Kaliman, stressed that there is a huge number of mentally ill Israeli soldiers, even before the wave of PTSD that will wash over in about a year.

Moreover, Luria explained that the Rehabilitation department is now accommodating, for the first time, a very large group of Israeli soldiers. She emphasized that this is something "we did not fully comprehend until now, and we will have to learn about it."

While "Israel" has been accommodating 60,000 disabled Israeli soldiers, with 50% of them classified as "third-generation descendants" and veterans of past wars, Luria concluded that the current war has "significantly changed the structure of Israeli society" and will impact all plans laid out by the "Israeli Disabled Veterans Organization" for the next year.