Defense Ministry announces over 75,000 wounded, 13,500 during current war

Prior to the war, there were around 62,000 injured soldiers from all prior wars and battles, of which 18%, or 11,000, had emotional harm.

By YONAH JEREMY BOB DECEMBER 17, 2024 19:01

IDF SOLDIERS evacuate the wounded from near the Israeli border with Lebanon in 2024. (photo credit: AYAL MARGOLIN/FLASH90)

Leading into Wednesday, the country’s national day for recognizing wounded soldiers, the Defense Ministry announced on Tuesday that the number of injured has crossed the 75,000 mark and, for the current war, the 13,500 mark.

Back in April, the ministry predicted around 20,000 additional soldiers would be injured for the year.

However, there was a significant drop in fighting between February and May.

In July, the Defense Ministry said that 9,250 IDF soldiers had been wounded in nine months of fighting.

It also predicted at the time that 14,000 would be wounded over the course of the whole year of 2024, with Tuesday’s numbers coming in just under that prediction.

Wounded IDF soldiers are seen at Ben-Gurion Airport ahead of traveling to Nepal with the Erez Foundation. (credit: CHEN SCHIMMEL)

Drop in wounded

The slight drop in wounded soldiers as compared to the pace of wounded soldiers earlier in the war can be attributed to very little in terms of major ground forces’ battles since Hamas was defeated in Rafah in June and August.

While the second half of 2024 saw a drop in the pace of wounded soldiers, all of the current war period still reflected a 20% increase as compared to the year before the war.

All of this is still just in terms of soldiers, given that the vast majority of those killed and wounded by Hamas on October 7, 2023 were civilians, with the number of killed and wounded civilians dwarfing any comparative number for decades.

In general, the number of former soldiers who have sought recognition as wounded soldiers, including some of the social, economic, and therapy rights which come along with that recognition, has tripled to 19,500.

Around 51% of those injured in the current war are above the age of 30, around 8,500 have physical wounds and around 43% are struggling with emotional harm, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 3,350 soldiers’ primary issue is emotional, while thousands more have to cope with both physical and emotional harm.

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1,300 have specifically been given a PTSD designation – considered a more serious case of emotional harm – but experts generally assume PTSD is significantly underreported.

14,320 soldiers have received at least minor levels of emotional therapy or treatment.

The ministry has streamlined much of the bureaucracy for getting recognized and there are 300 new technological treatment options for wounded soldiers.

229 wounded soldiers already have special treatment dogs assigned to them for animal therapy, while another 168 requests for such therapy are being processed.

By 2030, the ministry expects to cross the 100,000 wounded soldier threshold with about 50% of them suffering at least partially from emotional harm.

In July, the ministry said that 70% of the wounded were reservists, while 30% were mandatory service or career officers. 

Prior to the war, there were around 62,000 injured soldiers from all prior wars and battles, of which 18%, or 11,000, had emotional harm.

Of those 11,000, around 8,000 or 70%, experienced emotional symptoms as their primary problem.

The IDF has said it is proud that 85% of its soldiers who have a potential mix of being physically or emotionally harmed by their war experiences are able to return to the battlefield.

Moreover, the IDF is proud of the over 850 new psychologists-therapists it hired to handle increased emotional problems from the war.

But some experts and anecdotal evidence have raised questions about whether the atmosphere among these therapists and the battle commanders is truly conducive to handling issues like PTSD properly, or whether there is undue pressure from key officials to send soldiers back into battle even if they are only borderline stable.     

Others have criticized the IDF for offering therapy mainly to frontline combat soldiers, while ignoring the trauma to other kinds of soldiers who are witnessing or experiencing a variety of traumatic experiences during their service even if they technically are not combat fighters.