Casualties of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war

Casualties of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
The casualties of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war include combatants and civilians of Israel, Palestine, and numerous other nations. The majority of fatalities have occurred in the Gaza Strip or in Israeli communities near the strip, but casualties have also occurred in other parts of Israel, the West Bank, southern Lebanon, and Syria. Casualties also include more than 200 Israelis and others kidnapped by Palestinian militants.
Casualties
Israel
Civilians and soldiers
Around 1,400 Israelis and foreigners have been killed since 7 October, including 308 IDF soldiers, 10 Shin Bet agents and 58 police officers and at least 5,132 wounded. The casualties also include approximately 70 dead or missing Arab-Israeli citizens, many of whom are Negev Bedouin.
On 7 October there were massacres at 10+ different kibbutzim where civilians resided and at an outdoor dance music festival. Over 260 attendees were killed at the psychedelic trance open-air "Supernova Sukkot Gathering" music festival near the Re'im kibbutz. It became the deadliest concert attack ever and the worst Israeli civilian massacre in its history. Over 100 civilians were killed in the Be'eri massacre, including children. Many of the kibbutz residents among the dead or missing were peace activists. At least 50–100 people have been reported killed in the Kfar Aza massacre, with the total death toll unknown. Filmmaker Yahav Winner was killed in Kfar Aza. Many civilians were also killed in the Nahal Oz massacre. Nine people were fatally shot at a bus shelter in Sderot. At least four people were reported killed in Kuseife. At least 400 casualties were reported in Ashkelon, while 280 others were reported in Beer Sheva, 60 of which were in serious condition. In the north, injuries from rocket attacks were reported in Tel Aviv.
Former Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C. striker Lior Asulin was among those killed in the Re'im music festival massacre. The head of the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council, Ofir Libstein, was killed in an exchange of fire with the militants. The police commander of Rahat, Jayar Davidov, was also killed. Izhar Peled, a police officer, was killed in Kfar Aza. The IDF confirmed that 258 of its soldiers had been killed. Among their confirmed dead were Colonel Yonatan Steinberg, the commander of the Nahal Brigade, who was killed near Kerem Shalom; Colonel Roi Levy, commander of the Multidimensional "Ghost" unit, who was killed near Kibbutz Re'im; and Lieutenant Colonel Eli Ginsberg, commander of the LOTAR Counter-terrorism Unit School. The Druze deputy commander of the 300th "Baram" Regional Brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Alim Abdallah, was killed in action along with two other soldiers while responding to an infiltration from southern Lebanon on 9 October.
Journalists in Israel
Yaniv Zohar, a photographer for the Israel Hayom newspaper who was the first to cover the abduction of Gilad Shalit in 2006 for the Associated Press's Israel bureau, was killed along with his wife, two daughters and father-in-law in Hamas' attack on Kibbutz Nahal Oz on 7 October. His only son managed to escape. Yedioth Ahronoth photographer Roy Edan was killed along with his wife in Kfar Aza; two of their children were rescued after hiding in a closet but his three-year-old daughter went missing and is believed to have been taken to Gaza. Shai Regev, an entertainment editor for the Maariv newspaper, was killed in the Re'im music festival massacre, as was Ayelet Arnin, a news editor for KAN.
Multiple attacks against Arab journalists were reportedly committed by Israeli police. The Committee to Protect Journalists reported that on 7 October, a television crew from Sky News Arabia was assaulted, and their equipment damaged by police in Ashkelon, with correspondent Firas Lutfi saying that police aimed rifles at his head, forced him to undress and evicted them from the area under escort after confiscating their phones. A crew from BBC Arabic was stopped, held at gun point, and assaulted by police in Tel Aviv on the night of 13–14 October.
Migrant workers
At least 50 migrant workers were killed during Hamas' attack on 7 October and around 100,000 migrant workers are trapped in Israel during the conflict due to debt from huge fees they had to pay to recruitment agencies for getting jobs.
Gaza Strip
Civilians
The Gaza Strip suffered heavy civilian casualties from Israeli bombardment. Since the war began, the number of dead had exceeded 7,700 people, including 3,000 children, and 19,000 injured. Within three weeks this war had become the bloodiest war ever fought in Gaza’s history, killing or wounding well over 23,000, more than 1% of it's 2.3 million people, and eclipsing the combined death toll of the Second Intifada, Operation Cast Lead, and Operation Protective Edge. On 24 October, political analyst Marwan Bishara described the situation in Gaza as "something that I haven’t seen before. We are now talking about industrial-scale killing."
In the West Bank, related violence during the conflict killed almost 100 Palestinians and wounded at least 300. Several thousand Gazan workers were in Israel at the time when the conflict started. As of October 16 some of them were detained at a "holding facility" in the West Bank while others sought refuge in the Palestinian communities of the West Bank.
There were reports of mass casualties resulting from several Israeli airstrikes on the Jabalia Camp, where at least 50 people were killed. An Israeli airstrike at a United Nations school in the al-Maghazi refugee camp killed at least six people. Significant civilian casualties were reported following the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion. Other mass casualty strikes included the Church of Saint Porphyrius airstrike and the al-Shati refugee camp airstrike.
On 13 October, the Palestinian Ministry of Health noted 20 surnames had been removed from Gaza's civil registry, meaning every single person in that entire family had been killed. On 16 October, the UNRWA stated there were so many deaths in Gaza that there were no longer enough body bags. Because the morgues were so overcrowded, bodies were contained in ice cream trucks.
Journalists in Gaza
At least six Palestinian journalists in Gaza were reported to have been killed by Israeli attacks while in the line of duty. Ibrahim Mohammad Lafi, a photographer for Ain Media, was fatally shot during the attack on the Erez crossing on 7 October, while Mohammad Jarghoun, a reporter with Smart Media, was killed east of Rafah on the same day. Freelance journalist Mohammad el-Salhi was also shot dead on the border east of Bureij refugee camp on 7 October. On 9 October, Saeed al-Taweel, editor-in-chief of Al-Khamsa News website, Mohammed Subh and Hisham Alnwajha were killed by an airstrike while filming an anticipated attack in Gaza City. Two other journalists were reported missing, and another was injured by shrapnel. The homes of two journalists were destroyed by shelling, and the offices of four media outlets were destroyed by airstrikes. On 19 October, the Committee to Protect Journalists stated 21 journalists were confirmed dead, eight were injured, and three were missing or detained. On 22 October, Rushdi Sarraj was killed by an Israeli airstrike on his home.
Health and aid workers
On 11 October, UNRWA reported that nine of their workers were killed in an Israeli airstrike, and that its headquarters were being targeted by Israel. It said a school sheltering more than 225 people was struck. 11 members of UNRWA and five members of the Red Cross and Red Crescent were killed in Gaza since the start of the fighting. Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said it had counted 16 medical personnel killed since 7 October. MSF said a nurse and an ambulance driver were killed, and several others injured in Israeli strikes on the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis and the Indonesia Hospital in Gaza City. A paramedic was reported to be in critical condition. The Indonesian Medical Emergency Rescue Committee (MER-C) confirmed a staff member was killed near an operational MER-C vehicle. On 22 October, UNRWA stated 29 staff members had been killed in Gaza.
Militants
The Israeli Defense Forces estimated on 10 October that the bodies of approximately 1,000 Palestinian militants had been found inside Israel. Several Hamas leaders have been reported killed. Hamas co-founder, Abdul Fatah Dukhan, was killed. The following day, the head of Hamas's National Relations Office, Zakaria Abu Muammar, was reportedly killed in Khan Yunis. On 11 October, the IDF confirmed the death of Jawad Abu Shamala, who served as Hamas's economy minister, in a drone strike. Further, on 14 October, the IDF announced the killing of Hamas's head of aerial operations, Murad Abu Murad, in an overnight airstrike.
On 16 October, another member of the Hamas political bureau, Osama Mazini, was killed in an airstrike at his home. In addition to the targeted strikes on Hamas leaders. On 9 October, an airstrike in Rafah killed a local armed group leader. On 17 October, Ayman Nofal was killed. On 18 October, Jamila Al-Shanti, the first woman to be elected to Hamas' political bureau and a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, was killed in an airstrike in Jabalia. On 19 October, Jihad Muheisen was killed. Rafat Harb Hussein Abu Hilal was killed by an airstrike. On 22 October, the New York Times estimated that of the more than 4,000 Gazans killed by Israeli airstrikes, 13 were Hamas officials.
On 23 October, Omar Daraghmeh, a senior Hamas official, died in an Israeli prison. Hamas spokespeople called this an assassination. He had been arrested in the West Bank by the Israel Defense Forces on October 9, after the Hamas invasion of Israel, along with his son.
Lebanon
During clashes along the Israel–Lebanon border, an Israeli artillery strike on 13 October killed Reuters videographer Issam Abdallah and injured six other journalists from Reuters, Agence France-Presse and Al Jazeera. In addition, between 24 and 26 people have been killed in Lebanon.
Foreign and dual-national casualties
As of 11 October, the The Washington Post reported that persons from 24 countries had been killed or went missing during the conflict.
The Nepali ambassador to Israel, Kanta Rijal, said at least seven of its nationals in the country were injured in the attack, and that they along with ten others were held captive by Hamas at Kibbutz Alumim. The Nepalese embassy later confirmed that 10 Nepalese students were killed during the attack in the kibbutz. Israeli media also reported that migrant workers from Thailand and the Philippines were also taken captive by Palestinian militants. The Philippine government confirmed that four Filipinos were killed while two others were injured in the attacks, with authorities verifying reports of Filipinos being held captive by Hamas. 26 Filipinos were rescued by Israeli security forces, while two Filipinos were unaccounted for. At least 28 Thais were killed and 17 were captured by Hamas at Kibbutz Alumim. The reason for Hamas attacking the foreign workers' living quarters was because security guards successfully defended the main kibbutz residential area from invasion so they attacked softer targets. There were no guards stationed at the mostly Asian-inhabited living quarters.
A German-Israeli national, Shani Louk, was killed while attending the Re'im music festival; a video of Palestinians parading her near-naked body in a car was circulated on the internet. Several other German citizens were reported to be among those kidnapped by militants. At least 17 British citizens were reported as dead or missing, including one attendee of the music festival. 18 Ukrainians, a Cambodian student, and a Chilean woman were confirmed to have been killed by Hamas. 13 French citizens were killed, with an additional 17 missing, including four children.
At least 31 Americans were killed during the attacks and 13 others were missing. Mexico's Secretary of Foreign Affairs reported that two Mexican nationals were presumed to have been taken hostage by Hamas. One Brazilian national was reported as injured and three were reported missing. An Indian caregiver was injured by a rocket barrage in Ashkelon. The British embassy confirmed the death of a British national who attended the music festival.
Spanish foreign minister José Manuel Albares said two Spaniards were attacked without specifying their condition. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani stated that an Italian-Israeli couple went missing in Be'eri. Two Tanzanian students were reported by their embassy to be missing. The Russian Embassy stated that 16 Russian nationals were killed and nine others went missing following the attack. Four Argentinians were reported to have been killed and three were reported missing.
The Canadian government stated that three Canadians were killed, and that two other Canadians were missing. A Paraguayan couple was reported killed, with the government also reporting two nationals missing. An Irish attendee of the music festival was reported missing. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Peru confirmed that a Peruvian-Israeli soldier was killed in action on the front line, while three remained missing. A Colombian couple attending the music festival was reported missing after the attack. The Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that three Austrian-Israeli dual nationals had been captured, and that one of them had later been confirmed dead. South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation confirmed that two citizens, including a dual national, were killed.
In Gaza, a Ukrainian national was confirmed to have been killed.
Missing persons
Hostages
About 200–250 people were taken hostage during the Israeli attacks, mostly civilians. On 8 October, Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed to be holding at least 30 captives. At least four people were reported taken from Kfar Aza. Videos from Gaza appeared to show captured people, with Gazan residents cheering trucks carrying dead bodies. Israel reported four captives were killed in Be'eri, while Hamas indicated that an IDF airstrike on Gaza on 9 October killed four captives.
Civilians believed to be held captive in Gaza include families, children, festival-goers, peace activists, caregivers, and elders such as 74-year-old Vivian Silver, a peace activist and former board member of the human rights organisation B'Tselem, who went missing following the attack on Be'eri. 75-year-old historian Alex Dancyg, who has written books on Poland's Jewish community and the Holocaust, was taken from Nir Oz. Also at Nir Oz, six members of the Silberman-Bibas family were caught on video being taken from their home; on 11 October, Hamas released a video showing three of them being let go near the border fence. On 16 October, Hamas released a video of one of its hostages, a 21-year-old French Israeli woman who had sustained injuries to her arm and a scar. On 20 October, Hamas released an American woman and her 17-year-old daughter who were taken while visiting relatives in Nahal Oz.
According to a report sent to the International Committee of the Red Cross by the Geneva-based organization Hostage and Missing Families Forum, hostages include people with Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, dementia, autism and psychiatric disorders, who are "in urgent need of treatment and lifesaving medication", and are "prone to immediate mortality [without] essential medications and treatment." The report also expressed concern about untreated injuries induced during the attack.
An open letter published in The Lancet by a group of 1,500 Israeli health-care professionals expressed shock at "the greatest loss of civilian life since the establishment of the state of Israel", and the indiscriminate "barbaric rampage" through "entire villages in the south of Israel", which it termed a "crime against humanity". The letter called on the international medical community to "condemn the savage massacre, to immediately call for guarantees for the safety and health of all those being kept hostage, and to unequivocally call for the immediate and unconditional return of our families and friends who have been cruelly taken hostage".
American-Israeli author Robby Berman set up a fund offering a reward of 1 million Israeli shekels for the release of hostages in Gaza, specifically aimed at encouraging Palestinians to aid in the rescue of Jewish prisoners.
See also
Casualties of Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip
Israeli casualties of war
Palestinian casualties of war
Effects of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
Outline of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
War crimes in the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
References
Palestinian war casualties
Israeli war casualties
War casualties by war
Gaza–Israel conflict
Missing people