The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported on Monday that 29 Israeli army fatalities occurred due to "friendly fire" and operational incidents since the onset of the ground war in Gaza late last October. Meanwhile, The Jerusalem Post revealed the loss of 15 soldiers whose bodies have not been recovered.
According to the army's figures, since the ground war in Gaza began, "172 soldiers have been killed, including 29 in operational incidents."
The Israeli authority elaborated that "18 soldiers were killed by friendly fire, two were shot (without further clarification), and nine Israeli soldiers died in ammunition or weapon-related incidents or were run over."
The army's data published on Monday indicates that 506 soldiers have been killed since the start of the war on Gaza on October 7th, with 172 fatalities since the commencement of the ground offensive.
The latest count of Israeli soldiers killed by friendly fire in Gaza, released on December 12, stood at 20 according to the official army radio.
Missing Bodies
The Jerusalem Post reported that more than 15 soldiers have been declared killed in Gaza without the recovery of their bodies.
The Israeli newspaper stated that the military rabbinate has announced the absence of bodies for 15 soldiers killed during the fighting in Gaza and suggested they might be held by Hamas. This statement comes despite its religious sensitivity and complexity.
The newspaper noted that while this situation is not new, the number this time is significant. The common adage among rabbis is "zero errors and 100% identification of the killed soldier."
Only the chief military rabbi is authorized to declare a soldier's death, and this comes after a comprehensive process of gathering and identifying remains, in consultation with intelligence agencies, medical experts, forensic examiners, and analyzing videos and images.
If a soldier's remains are not found, there are several criteria the rabbi can use to declare the soldier's death, such as intelligence information, including "an intercepted enemy call" indicating the soldier's death, or if the soldier was in a situation from which most individuals would not survive, or if the army knows the soldier lost a fatal amount of blood.
If all experts agree that the missing soldier has perished, a special team within the military rabbinate comprising rabbis, doctors, and lawyers will affirm the result before the case is referred to the chief rabbi for a final decision.
The Israeli occupation army has been waging an aggression on Gaza since October 7th, which has resulted in 21,822 martyrs and 56,451 injuries, and unprecedented extensive destruction of infrastructure and a humanitarian disaster, according to Gaza's authorities and the United Nations.
