Israel Marks Third Year of War with Updated Casualty Figures

As Israel approaches the third anniversary of the October 7th attacks, the Ministry of Defense and National Insurance Institute have released updated casualty figures. The National Insurance Institute reported that 1,029 civilians were murdered since the war began. Of these, 778 were killed on October 7th itself, with an additional 251 civilians murdered since that day, including 63 children and teenagers. The number of victims of hostile acts has risen by 87,286 civilians over the past three years, with the majority injured on October 7th and others during the war and operations "With the Lion" and "Roar of the Lion" in Iran. Out of approximately 43,000 disability claims filed, about 40,000 have been approved. The vast majority of these, 34,878 civilians, were recognized for psychological injuries, while 3,171 were recognized for physical injuries and 2,355 for combined injuries. The remaining claims are still under review. Over 7,150 family members have been added to the bereaved families registry, including 2,143 bereaved parents, 355 widows, 880 orphans, and 3,772 siblings. An additional 1,318 fallen soldiers have been added to the total count of fallen in Israel's security forces since October 7th, 2023. This includes casualties from the IDF, Israel Police, Shin Bet, Prison Service, firefighting and rescue services, local security officers, and community emergency squads who fought in Gaza, the south, the north, Lebanon, and Judea and Samaria. The surge in casualties and unemployed individuals has led to over 8 billion shekels in expenses for the National Insurance Institute. More than 6 billion shekels were allocated to victims of hostile acts, families of the fallen, and families of hostages, along with various grants for evacuees and reservists. Additionally, over 2 billion shekels were paid as unpaid leave compensation to approximately 300,000 citizens, including about 100,000 during operation "With the Lion" and nearly 200,000 during operation "Roar of the Lion."