The IDF said on Thursday that 891 soldiers have died during the war years 2023-2024, including a jump in suicides to 38 during that period.
Some 558 soldiers died in 2023 and 363 in 2024.
Of the 558, 512 were killed in fighting and operations, three by local terror attacks, 10 from natural health problems, and 17 from suicide.
Of the 363, 295 were killed in fighting and operations, 11 by local terror attacks, 13 from natural health problems, and 21 from suicides.
Over 5,500 soldiers have been wounded during the war.
Of the 17 suicides in 2023, 9 were mandatory service soldiers, 4 were officers, and nine were reservists.
Of the 21 suicides in 2024, 7 were mandatory service soldiers, 2 were officers, and 12 were reservists.
In 2022, there were only 14 suicides , and none of them were reservists
In 2013, 2018, and 2020, the suicide numbers were in single digits. The highest number of suicides in the last 24 years was in 2005, with 36.
The IDF said that all suicides were a problem and that the reservist army had spiked considerably in size because of the war but that it was throwing increased resources at addressing the problem for all soldiers, especially reservists.
However, the negative trend created a hole in IDF arguments that it has done enough in mental health areas to help soldiers without even getting into debates about how the IDF is handling post-traumatic stress disorder on a broader scale.
Majority of soldiers killed in Gaza
Of the 891 deaths, 390 were mostly in Gaza in 2024, 329 were in 2023, including October 7, and others were in Lebanon, in the North, and in the West Bank.
In terms of total losses, the 1948-1949 Independence War was still the worst, with over 6,000 Israeli deaths, including around 4,000 soldiers.
The 1973 Yom Kippur War is still second with a loss of around 2,650 soldiers, though if the current war continues, it could potentially eventually pass this number given that 1,200, mostly civilians, were killed on October 7, 2023.
Some 657 soldiers were killed during the 1982 Lebanon War and the immediate years following.
In more recent years, the previous high in deaths of soldiers was in 2002, with 235.
Next, the IDF said that there were nine road accident deaths in 2023 and 20 in 2024.
The IDF said it is working on improving in that area but did not give much in terms of specifics.
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