(Pictured: Sergeant Alon Amitay, 21, of Ramot Naftali; Sergeant Omri Tamari, 19, of Mazkeret Batya; Sergeant Yosef Hieb , 19, of Tuba-Zangariyye; and Sergeant Yoav Agmon of Binyamina - killed in Gaza in October last year).

TEL AVIV, Israel  – The Israeli Defense Ministry on Monday released a somber official tally showing that 1,152 security personnel have fallen in battle since the war began on October 7, 2023, with a devastatingly high proportion of the casualties being young soldiers performing their mandatory national service.

The newly published data, which covers  two years of conflict, reveals that over 40 percent of the slain soldiers were aged 18 to 21. The figures account for casualties across all active fronts and include members of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the Israel Police, the Shin Bet security agency, and various special operations units.

A Nation Grappling with a Young Generation Lost

The ministry's publication provided a heartbreaking demographic breakdown of the losses. While 141 of the fallen were over the age of 40, the vast majority of the deaths were among members of the reserves, officers, soldiers who had extended their service, or those serving past the mandatory age. However, the statistic highlighting the immense sacrifice of Israel's youth has cast a long shadow over the nation.

(Pictured left to right: St.-Sgt. Tal Shavit, 21, of Kfar Giladi; St.-Sgt. Ido Testa, 19, of Jerusalem; and St.-Sgt. Ruben Marc Mordechai Assouline, 19, of Ra'anana - killed in Gaza in May last year).

"The last two years of the war are like 26 years of work and 26 years of funerals," said Arie Moalem, head of the Defense Ministry's Families, Commemoration, and Heritage Department, underscoring the unprecedented scale of the loss. "We have added more than 6,500 people to the circle of bereavement. We reached a peak of 90 funerals in a single day."

The Expanding Circle of Bereavement

The human cost of the war extends far beyond the battlefield. The ministry detailed that the fallen soldiers have left behind over 6,500 new bereaved family members. This includes approximately 1,973 bereaved parents, 351 widows, 885 orphans, and 3,481 bereaved siblings.

(Pictured: Sgt. Michael Ruzal, 18, of Rishon Lezion - killed in Gaza in May last year).

The profound impact on these families was brought directly to Israel's political leadership last month. During a September 25 meeting of the Knesset IDF Human Resources Subcommittee, a group of siblings who lost brothers in the war testified about a critical lack of government support in the aftermath of their loss.

The meeting, led by MK Elazar Stern of the Yesh Atid party, featured emotional testimony from bereaved family members who detailed various struggles they have faced since the death of their loved ones, highlighting the ongoing challenges beyond the immediate tragedy.

The release of these figures solidifies the immense human price Israel has paid in the ongoing conflict, a toll that continues to shape the nation's social and political landscape.