(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) — In the wake of the conflict in the Gaza Strip, the number of injured Israeli military personnel may reach a staggering 20,000, including those suffering from mental illness or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
This revelation comes from Edan Kleiman, who headed the Israeli Veterans Organization.
Kleiman, himself a veteran injured during his service in Gaza in the 1990s told the Associated Press that the intensity of the current warfare experienced by the Israeli military surpasses anything he witnessed before this.
He urged Israeli authorities to recognize the severity of the challenges faced by military personnel at present, predicting a surge in injuries due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Leading an organization sponsoring over 50,000 members injured in conflicts involving the Jewish state, Kleiman noted the necessity to double their efforts to accommodate the increasing number of Israeli military personnel sustaining injuries.
He emphasized the ongoing commitment to providing therapy and support staff, as well as upgrading rehabilitation centers.
Kleiman stressed the importance of ensuring that military personnel receive the necessary mental and physical treatment, including access to housing or transportation, to facilitate their recovery and reintegration into the workforce.
Despite the Israeli Veterans Organization asserting a significantly higher count of injured Israeli military personnel, the country’s Ministry of Defense has reported only 3,000 such cases to date.
The accuracy of this figure has been contested within Israel itself.
In a recent interview, David Oren Baruch, the director of the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery, revealed a somber reality where an Israeli soldier is buried every one to one and a half hours.
Speaking on November 19, he stated, “We are entering a phase where burials are taking place every hour and an hour and a half, and then another burial ceremony follows.”
Hebrew newspaper Yediot Ahronoth reported that since the onset of the Gaza conflict on October 7, more than 5,000 Israeli military personnel have been confirmed as injured, with 2,000 of them sustaining permanent disabilities.
The newspaper highlighted that 58 percent of these injuries were severe, affecting limbs to the extent of amputations, an unprecedented occurrence for the Israeli military.
The report also disclosed that over 5,000 injured military personnel have been admitted to hospitals, with more than 2,000 officially recognized as disabled by the Ministry of Defense. — DSA
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