One day before the second anniversary of Hamas' invasion of southern Israel and the following massacre that began the ongoing war, Israel's Defense Ministry announced that 1,152 soldiers and other security personnel have since lost their lives while defending the state.
During the past year, 262 new fallen were added to the toll.
"Over 6,500 family members have been added to the family of the bereaved, including approximately 1,973 bereaved parents, 351 widows, 885 orphans, and 3,481 bereaved brothers and sisters," the statement read.
The ministry noted that most of those killed in action were young, single men during their mandatory IDF service.
Of those killed, 42% (487) were under the age of 21, while 141 were over the age of 40. Most of them were members of reserve units, soldiers who extended their service for various reasons, or officials of different capacities.
In addition, 337 of them were aged 22–30, while 187 were between 31–40 years old.
The ministry included all the slain on all the fronts on which Israel has been fighting, as well as every unit related to the country's security.
In addition to the IDF, this also includes the Israel Police, the domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet, special operations forces, Israel Prison Service, and members of local emergency squads.
1,035 were IDF soldiers, including 508 in mandatory service, 283 career soldiers, 318 reservists, and 43 members of emergency response squads.
100 were police officers, nine were Shin Bet agents, and eight served in the prison service.
The large majority of those killed were men (1,086) but 66 women also gave their lives in defense of the state.
327 soldiers were married when they fell, leaving behind 351 widows, 885 orphans, and 11 fiancées.
In addition to the soldiers, the National Insurance Institute said last month that 978 civilians were killed in terrorist attacks, and another 79,991 civilians were recognized as victims of hostilities.
On Monday, the Police and the IDF Home Front Command deployed additional troops to the Gaza border region to prepare for large numbers of visitors expected in the area to mark the two-year anniversary in various official and private ceremonies.
The police and IDF said in a joint statement that additional troops were sent to expected flash point sites in Kibbutz Be'eri, Sderot, Route 232, and the site of the Nova festival massacre near Re'im, among others.
Republished with permission from All Israel News