On the eve of the second anniversary of the October 7 Hamas-led terrorist assault, the Defense Ministry released updated casualty figures Monday, revealing that 1,152 Israeli security personnel have been killed in the ongoing war.
The ministry said 42% of the dead — 487 individuals — were under the age of 21, and 337 were between the ages of 22 and 30. In total, 1,086 of the fallen were men, and 66 were women.
The war, which began on Oct. 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas terrorists stormed the Gaza border, has claimed the lives of 1,035 IDF soldiers, including 43 members of civilian emergency response squads, as well as 100 police officers, nine Shin Bet agents and eight prison service personnel. Of the total, 508 were conscripts, 283 were career officers and 318 were reservists.
The ministry’s Families, Commemoration and Heritage Division, which oversees services for bereaved families, reported that more than 6,500 new mourners have joined Israel’s bereaved community since the war began. That includes 1,973 grieving parents, 351 widows, 885 orphans and 3,481 bereaved siblings.
More than 200 fallen soldiers were buried on Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl, while others were laid to rest in 263 military cemeteries and plots across the country. A small number were repatriated and buried abroad. Fifteen families were buried together with their loved ones, and 21 fallen were reinterred in their hometowns once conditions permitted.
In the past year alone, the division recorded 262 new casualties and added more than 1,300 relatives to its support network. Officials warned of the emotional and logistical toll, describing the current workload as equal to two decades of wartime casualties.
Among the fallen are 801 individuals who were unmarried, including 11 fiancées. The government extended financial and emotional support not only to widows and children but also to engaged partners and divorced spouses, while launching legislation to formalize aid for adult orphans.
The Defense Ministry said it had expanded its social welfare services, including housing, counseling, economic guidance and crisis grants. It also established new programs for young orphans, expecting widows and bereaved small business owners. The ministry said 40 babies have been born to widows who were pregnant when their partners were killed.
Arie Moalem, head of the ministry’s Families and Commemoration Division, said, “The State of Israel carries a heavy burden. The history of our country is written in the blood of our sons and daughters.” He called the effort to support bereaved families a national mission, adding, “Each family is a world unto itself, and that is how we treat them."
"In our hearts, we carry a prayer for the return of the hostages, healing for the wounded and the safe return of the IDF soldiers and security forces fighting for our future," he concluded.