Number of Israeli disabled soldiers exceeds 70,000 since 7 October - Report

The number of disabled Israeli army soldiers has exceeded 70,000 for the first time, including 8,663 who had been wounded after the start of the war on Gaza on 7 October.

Israeli Channel 7 confirmed that these numbers are receiving treatment in the Defence Ministry’s rehabilitation departments, noting that 35 per cent of them are dealing with mental issues while 21 per cent of them deal with physical injuries.

The Channel said the Ministry’s rehabilitation departments are preparing to receive about 20,000 new injuries by the end of 2024.

According to the Channel, data provided by the Israeli Medical Conference shows that more than a thousand new wounded men and women are admitted to the ward every month to receive treatment; 95 per cent of them are men; about 70 per cent of whom are reserve soldiers, and half of them are between 18 and 30 years old.

“According to an analysis conducted by specialists, about 40 per cent of the wounded who will be admitted to the hospital by the end of the year may face various mental reactions, including anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress and difficulties in adaptation and communication,” it said.

“Of the approximately 70,000 disabled soldiers being treated in the rehabilitation ward, 9,539 suffer from post-traumatic and mental reactions,” it said.

In mid-April, the Israeli army admitted that more than 2,000 soldiers, policemen and security personnel have been disabled since the beginning of its war on the Gaza Strip, according to the Hebrew Walla news site, citing the Safety and Security Institute of the Israeli Ministry of Labour.

The website added at the time, “The percentage of people who suffer from sleeping difficulties rose from 18.7 per cent last summer to 37.7 per cent, an increase of 101 per cent while reports of suffering from high stress rose to 43.5 per cent during the war, an increase of about 78 per cent”.

Since 7 October, the Israeli Occupation army has continued its aggression against the besieged Gaza Strip, killing 37,343 Palestinians and wounding 85,372 others, in addition to the displacement of about 1.7 million people, according to United Nations data.

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