Defense Ministry Rehabilitation Department says over 10,000 troops treated since Oct. 7
Body says 35% suffering from PTSD; forecasts that by 2030, it will be treating a total of 100,000 people, including from previous wars
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The Defense Ministry Rehabilitation Department said Wednesday that it had received 10,056 soldiers since the beginning of the war on October 7.
According to the Defense Ministry, 35 percent, or some 3,500, were suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or other mental disorders caused by trauma.
Another 37% were suffering physical trauma to their limbs, the ministry said. It did not detail the conditions of the other 28%.
Of the 10,056 soldiers, around 68% are reservists.
Each month, the department receives around 1,000 new veterans, the ministry said.
The rehab department was also working with some 62,000 wounded veterans from previous wars.
It forecasted that by 2030, the department would be treating some 100,000 people in total, with at least half of them suffering from PTSD.
The rehab department deals with wounded veterans from all of Israel’s security bodies, not just the Israel Defense Forces.
According to IDF data, 4,310 soldiers have been wounded since October 7. Of them, 640 were seriously wounded, 1,083 were moderately wounded, and 2,587 were lightly hurt.
In the ongoing ground offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, 2,206 soldiers have been wounded — 417 seriously, 675 moderately and 1,114 lightly, according to the data.
In all, 690 IDF soldiers have been killed amid the war, including 330 in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza. Sixty-three police officers have also been killed in the war, including a commando in a hostage rescue operation in Gaza. A civilian Defense Ministry contractor has also been killed in the Strip.
The war in Gaza has been ongoing since October 7, when Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel in which terrorists murdered some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages.
In response, Israel launched a ground invasion of Gaza with the declared objectives of dismantling Hamas and getting the hostages back.
The IDF is also battling terrorists on the Lebanon border. Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the northern border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid the war there.
