A year of war: IDF data shows 728 troops killed, over 26,000 rockets fired at Israel
Military says 17,000 terror operatives killed in Gaza, at least 800 in Lebanon; 4,700 tunnel shafts found in Strip; 11,000 Hezbollah positions hit
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
As the country marked one year since the onset of the war on October 7, 2023, the Israel Defense Forces on Monday published new data on its operations in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and Lebanon, from the number of rockets fired at Israel to the number of sites struck by the Israeli Air Force.
According to the data, some 17,000 Hamas operatives and members of other terror groups have been killed by the IDF in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war, in addition to some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7, when gunmen rampaged through southern communities massacring some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 to Gaza.
Israel responded with a military campaign to topple the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip, destroy the terror group, and free the hostages.
The Hamas-run health ministry has said over 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, though the figure cannot be independently verified and is believed to include both civilians and Hamas members killed in Gaza.
The IDF’s data said that the military has killed eight Hamas brigade commanders and those of an equivalent rank, as well as more than 30 battalion commanders. More than 165 Hamas company commanders and operatives with a similar rank have also been killed, according to the data.
Some 40,300 targets have been struck in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war, and troops have located some 4,700 tunnel shafts, the IDF said.
The day after the Hamas assault, Lebanon-based terror group Hezbollah began attacks along Israel’s northern border, saying it was acting in support of Gaza. That fighting steadily escalated over the months, until boiling over last month after Israel began a new offensive against the terror group by killing its entire top leadership and launching a ground operation in southern Lebanon.
In Lebanon, the IDF said it has killed more than 800 terror operatives, mostly members of the Iran-backed Hezbollah. The number included 90 Hezbollah commanders, according to the IDF.
According to the IDF’s data, nearly 11,000 Hezbollah positions have been struck by the military.
Since the beginning of the war, over 26,000 rockets, missiles, and drones have been launched at Israel from multiple fronts.
The numbers included 13,200 projectiles fired from Gaza — at least 5,000 on October 7 alone — 12,400 from Lebanon, around 60 from Syria, 180 from Yemen, and 400 from Iran — the latter of which in two direct attacks on Israel on April 13 and October 1.
The IDF did not detail how many drones and missiles had been launched from Iraq at Israel amid the war.
The figures did not include rockets — said by Israel to be at least in the hundreds — launched by Gazan terror groups that misfired and landed in the Strip, as well as those launched by Hezbollah that landed short in Lebanon.
The IDF said the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 504 has interrogated some 7,000 Palestinian suspects in the Gaza Strip, many of whom were arrested and brought to Israel for further questioning. Many have also been returned to Gaza after questioning.
A total of 728 soldiers, reservists, and local security officers have been killed and another 4,576 have been wounded in the war since October 7 — the latest on Sunday. Of them, 347 were killed and 2,299 were wounded during the ground offensive in Gaza.
The IDF also lists 56 soldiers killed due to friendly fire in Gaza and other military-related accidents.
Since October 7, in the West Bank, the IDF said troops have arrested more than 5,250 wanted Palestinians, including more than 2,050 affiliated with Hamas. Additionally, some 690 gunmen, rioters who clashed with troops, or terrorists carrying out attacks have been killed by troops in the West Bank, the IDF said.
The IDF said 150 brigade-level raids have been carried out in the West Bank, and 30 homes of Palestinians accused of terrorism have been demolished.
