4,000 Israeli soldiers disabled in Gaza war

JERUSALEM (AA) – At least 4,000 Israeli soldiers have become disabled since the beginning of the war on Gaza, according to Hebrew news site Walla.

“The country is preparing to receive a large number of disabled Israeli soldiers, and after 100 days of the war, around 4,000 soldiers have already been acknowledged as having disabilities,” it said.

The site considered Hamas to have “led Israel into a war that it had not previously experienced in terms of the number of soldier injuries, but more importantly, the injuries are extremely severe.”

The site added that the Israeli army “does not provide all data about the wounded to the public, for fear that it will lower people’s morale.”

“Currently, about 4,000 soldiers (with disabilities) have been recognized according to classification 3, meaning they are entitled to all treatments and rights enjoyed by a disabled person in the Israeli army without being officially recognized in this way,” said Walla.

The site quoted Idan Kaliman, chairman of the Israel Defense Forces Organization for the Disabled, who said: “I have been in the organization for 30 years, and I have never encountered such a large number of severely wounded individuals. There are many wounded with amputated limbs, blindness, or paralysis.”

Israel exterminated over 23,500 people, mostly children and women, in its war on Gaza.