After a year of fighting: IDF reports 891 Israeli soldiers have died during war, including 390 in Gaza & 50 in Lebanon

At the start of the new year, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released updated casualty figures among the Israeli forces for the past two years, as the longest war in Israel’s history continues with no end in sight.

In 2024, 363 regular, professional, and reserve IDF soldiers died while fulfilling their duties, compared to 558 the year before. In addition, 5,569 were wounded to varying degrees.

Since Oct. 7, 2023, the IDF said that 891 soldiers have fallen. This includes 329 who died during the Hamas invasion, and the bloody and confused fighting that followed to stem the tide and clear Israeli territory of terrorists.

390 soldiers were killed in ground operations in the Gaza Strip, after the IDF entered the area with large forces several weeks after Hamas’ invasion and massacre, aiming to destroy the terror group and return the hundreds of Israeli hostages.

On Oct. 8, 2023, the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah began firing rockets and drones at Israel to support Hamas. During operational activity to defend the border in northern Israel, 37 more soldiers were killed.

When the Israeli army invaded Lebanon in October 2024 to end Hezbollah’s constant attacks, an additional 50 soldiers fell during combat.

Another 11 soldiers were killed during operational activity in Judea and Samaria, where the IDF massively ramped up its counter-terror operations to prevent the region from becoming another full-blown arena in the multi-front war.

Unfortunately, many soldiers were killed in accidents and friendly-fire incidents, with a recent internal review finding a decline in discipline amid the ongoing war.

Of the 558 soldiers who died in 2023, the army said that 512 fell during combat or operational activities, while 13 died from diseases, and 16 died in training accidents, civilian and military road accidents, and accidental weapon discharges, among other causes.

During the ground operations in Gaza, 60 soldiers were killed in operational accidents of various kinds, around 15% of the total casualties, while in Lebanon, five more soldiers died in operational accidents (10% of casualties).

In 2024, there was a more than two-fold jump in the number of casualties from road accidents among IDF soldiers. According to Army Radio, 20 soldiers died in such accidents, compared to nine casualties last year.

Tragically, the number of suspected and confirmed suicides among soldiers also rose, with 28 soldiers having taken their own lives, of whom 16 were reserve soldiers.

The IDF told Army Radio, “The war and the unprecedented burdens on the servicemen certainly have an effect on the issue.” The number of suicides is the highest in IDF ranks since 2011 and is estimated to rise further.

To combat the phenomenon, the IDF opened a telephone helpline that is available 24/7 and has received 3,900 calls since the start of the war. The military also recruited 800 additional mental health officers.

“From the beginning of the war we saw the heroism of the IDF soldiers, who fight in all sectors, and show resilience, devotion to the mission and patience,” said the Commander of the IDF’s Human Resources Division, Brigadier General Amir Vedamani.

“Thousands were wounded during the war, most of them are still in the rehabilitation wards, in a brave struggle that continues even these days,” he added.

“The State of Israel has experienced a great loss. Each person is a whole world, and each one is one too many. We must act to provide an optimal response to the issues. We will do everything possible to reduce the painful cases.”