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1,152 Israeli security forces have fallen since Oct. 7, data show

JNS Staff

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“Shadows of Be’eri.” Photo by Chen Schimmel.

More than 1,150 Israeli soldiers and security personnel have been killed, leaving more than 6,500 people bereaved since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on the western Negev, according to data released on Monday by Israel’s Defense Ministry, National Insurance Institute and the Emotional First Aid (ERAN) organization.

In the same period, 978 civilians were murdered in terrorist attacks, including 62 children under the age of 18, according to Israel’s Channel 12 News.

Approximately 42% of the casualties among security forces were under the age of 21, while 141 were over 40, according to the report.

In total, 1,152 members of the security forces were killed, including Israel Defense Forces soldiers, Israel Police officers, Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) members, local security coordinators and civilian rapid-response team members.

The bereaved relatives include 1,973 parents, 351 widows, 885 orphans and 3,481 siblings.

In the past year alone, 262 additional security personnel were killed, and over 1,300 new relatives joined the circle of bereavement, including 240 orphans and some 751 siblings, according to Channel 12.

Of the fallen, 1,086 were men and 66 women; 801 were single, and 327 were married. Among the fallen were also 318 reservists.

Among the civilians killed, 778 were murdered on the first day of the Hamas-led attacks, according to the National Insurance Institute.

The Institute also reported that 80,000 civilians suffered physical and psychological damage since the atrocities in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Of these, 30,462 were recognized as suffering from psychological trauma, 1,929 as suffering both physical and psychological trauma, and 1,592 from physical trauma alone.

During Israel’s 12-day war with Iran in June, 30 civilians were killed in ballistic missile attacks and 1,176 were injured. In the first two months of the war, the National Insurance Institute paid more than $220 million in compensation to terror victims, bereaved families and hostages’ families, according to Channel 12.

In the entire year of 2024, payments exceeded $243 million, and in the last quarter of 2025 alone, more than $46 million were distributed, including more than $16 million for returned abductees in medical care and stipends, the report read.

ERAN, a psychological first-aid provider, saw the highest rate of distress calls in the first month of the war since its founding in 1971. Nearly every second call is related to anxiety, trauma or loss, according to the organization.

In total, it has registered more than 637,000 distress calls to its hotlines since Oct. 7, 2023.

Moreover, “The data indicate ongoing erosion in social and family resilience, and an increased risk among particularly vulnerable groups,” ERAN’s National clinical director, Dr. Shiri Daniels, was quoted as saying.

“The silent anguish and existential anxiety harm the daily functioning of individuals, families and communities,” she added.

Aryeh Moalem, deputy director-general and head of the Families, Commemoration and Heritage Division at the Israeli Defense Ministry, was quoted as saying: “The State of Israel bears a heavy price—the history of our country has been written in the blood of our sons and daughters. Two years have passed since the outbreak of the war, and the Families, Commemoration and Heritage Division is coping with a workload equivalent to more than 20 years of regular activity. The division’s staff see their work as a mission, continuing to commemorate the fallen, preserve their legacy for future generations, and accompany the bereaved families with emotional and welfare support.”

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