This number marks the highest toll since the October 1973 war.

In comparison, 152 Israeli officers and soldiers were killed over the past 10 years, including casualties from the 2014  Israeli aggression on Gaza, according to Al Jazeera.

Record number of suicides
 

The Israeli army also recorded a rise in the number of suicides among its personnel during the war. It released statistics of its fatalities from the past two years.

These statistics indicate that 28 soldiers have committed suicide since the war on Gaza began on 7 October 2023, including 16 reservists. This number is the highest in 13 years.

In mid-March, the Israeli army acknowledged facing its most significant mental health crisis since the 1973 war because of the ongoing Gaza war following the Al-Aqsa Flood operation.

Severe shortage
 

Last December, Israeli Channel 12 reported that the Israeli army is grappling with a critical shortage of around 7,000 combat and support personnel due to its ongoing war on multiple fronts.

The army set to draft tens of thousands of Haredim (ultra-Orthodox Jews) into the military for the first time to address the deficit amid reports that around 500 officers have left military service in the second half of 2024.

In June, Israel's Supreme Court ruled that Haredim could no longer be exempt from military service. 

Political disputes
 

Less than two months after dismissal as defence minister, Yoav Gallant resigned from the Knesset membership on Wednesday evening. He attacked the current government for undermining the country's security, insisting that he will remain a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party, Israeli media reported.

In an announcement carried live on Israeli television, Gallant stated that he takes responsibility, as the former defence minister, for the lead-up to the 7 October Hamas operation and the current war in Gaza, Times of Israel reported.

He also accused Netanyahu and his replacement as defence chief, Israel Katz, of endangering the security of the country by backing a law that would codify military exemptions for much of the ultra-Orthodox community.

Moreover, he said he was dismissed as defence minister last November because he refused to capitulate on the issue, adding that he would not be a partner in Netanyahu and Katz’s efforts.

He also charged that the enlistment of the ultra-Orthodox was a “military necessity.”