IDF Deaths Not Forgotten Nor Injured

 Nadene Goldfoot                                             

My brother David and I in a few bygone years ago when I visited Austin, Texas, and I show this because several pictures I chose are disappearing off this article.  I always looked forward to discussions with my brother who was so smart!  

A friend asked me, " what's happening in Israel nowdays?  Is there still fighting going on?  What I know is that IDF soldiers are dying every day because of it.  One soldier or more every day are reported killed.  The last report was of about 5 sergeants and a corporal. Today is the 643rd day of the war that started in force after October 7, 2023.  Multiple sources indicate that as of early July 2025, 148 hostages taken during the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel have been returned alive. It's important to note that this number includes hostages who were released through ceasefire agreements and other deals, as well as those rescued by Israeli forces. Additionally, sources indicate that bodies of some hostages, including those who died in captivity and those killed on October 7, 2023, have also been recovered.  

Report from Israel is that:  On October 7, 2023, Hamas abducted 251 people from Israel. An additional four were previously held in Hamas captivity (Total hostages held by Hamas since October 7, 2025 - 255).  As of 22 June 2025, 50 hostages are still being held in captivity in Gaza. Of these, 49 were abducted on October 7 and one hostage (Hadar Goldin) has been held in Gaza since 2014.

They are still looking for hostages to free, checking out where shooting is coming from, etc, whatever soldiers do in a combat zone. 

Soldiers killed in northern Gaza's Beit Hanoun on July 7, 2025: (L-R) Staff Sgt. Meir Shimon Amar, Sgt. Moshe Nissim Frech, Staff Sgt. Noam Aharon Musgadian, Sgt. First Class (res.) Benyamin Asulin, Staff Sgt. Moshe Shmuel Noll. (Courtesy)

Reports indicate varying figures regarding the number of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers killed since October 7, 2023.

• Some sources, like the Times of Israel, cite IDF data stating that 889 soldiers, officers and reservists have been killed since October 7, 2023.
• Others, like Al Jazeera and the Wall Street Journal, report around 887-888 IDF deaths.
• A recent article from i24NEWS states that the IDF released casualty data reporting 891 soldiers killed since the beginning of the war on October 7, 2023. This report also mentions that 50 soldiers died during the invasion of Lebanon. 

It's important to note that these figures may not always be up-to-date and may vary depending on the source.

Based on the information available, the number of IDF injuries since October 7, 2023, has varied depending on the reporting source and the specific timeframe considered.

 One report states that over 16,000 soldiers have been wounded since October 7.

Times of Israel report besides 5 killed were :Among the 14 wounded, two of the troops were listed in serious condition.

• Other sources indicate a figure of 5,569 soldiers wounded since the October 7 attack, with 815 seriously injured.
• Some reports cite 5,667 injured soldiers, with a large discrepancy noted between military figures and Ministry of Defense reports.
• One source specifically reports 4,357 injured soldiers as of August 23, 2024, with 2,232 of these injuries sustained during ground operations in Gaza.
• Earlier IDF figures released in December 2023 reported 1,593 wounded soldiers since October 7, according to Haaretz}.  This newspaper is a liberal leftist one.  The report was very early.   This included 255 severe injuries, 446 moderate injuries, and 892 minor injuries. 

It is important to note that casualty figures can be challenging to verify during ongoing conflicts, and different sources may have varying methodologies or timelines for their reporting.

Hamas terrorists will fight until the last man; Sinwar here.

 Ibrahim Aqil, In the 1980s, Aqil was a senior member in the Islamic Jihad Organization, a group affiliated with Hezbollah. The organization carried out the 1983 US embassy bombing in Beirut, killing 63 people, and the attacks on the multinational force bases in Beirut resulted in the deaths of 305 people. During the 1980s, Aqil was responsible for the kidnapping of American and German hostages

 They do not have a reason, they believe, to last and re-organize their lives.  It's been found that they use cease fires to re-stock their supplies of ammunition, etc.  Since October 7, 2023, 3 leaders have been assassinated by IDF.  Several Hamas and Hezbollah leaders including Yahya Sinwar, Ibrahim Aqil and Ismail Haniyeh were killed since the start of the war.Ismail Haniyeh 

             Nasrallah      

Hassan Nasrallah served as a founding member of Hezbollah, which was formed to fight the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, declaring that its confrontation with Israel "should only end when it has been removed from existence."

Several factors led to Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1982, an operation dubbed "Peace for Galilee". 

• PLO presence and cross-border attacks: The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) had established a significant military presence in southern Lebanon, using it as a base to launch rocket attacks and raids into northern Israel, causing civilian casualties on both sides of the border. This was a continuation of Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon.
• Escalating conflict: Violence escalated in the period leading up to the invasion, including Palestinian cross-border raids and Israeli retaliatory attacks, according to Wikipedia.
• Attempted Assassination of Israeli Ambassador: The attempted assassination of Israel's ambassador to the United Kingdom, Shlomo Argov, by the Abu Nidal Organization, a militant Palestinian group opposed to the PLO, served as a catalyst for the invasion.

Update:  JBS has a great daily bit of news updating the names of fallen IDF soldiers;  Israel At War with Tisha Bader.  Her news, though sad, keeps us informed.  One mentioned just now was an IDF Azuli who not only was shot but terrorists tried to kidnap his body;  and they will take live or dead bodies now.  Good grief!!!

What I remember about my time as a teacher in Israel from 1980 to the end of 1985 was that so many of my male friends had been injured in previous wars, and still felt the affects of their wounds.  One needs more attention to the wounded in such counts to realized that we are not only losing young men but injuring so many that lasts for their whole life.  Israel is paying the price to keep their country of Israel alive; a problem we never expected after establishing it through the League of Nations and the United Nations as well.  May all be of blessed memory.  

Resource: 

update: 7/10/25 JBS News update Israel at WAr with Tisha Bader

https://www.timesofisrael.com/5-idf-soldiers-killed-14-injured-by-roadside-bomb-in-northern-gaza/

https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/hezbollah-hamas-leaders-killed-in-war-full-list/article68767881.ece

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hassan_Nasrallah

WARTiME Innovation: PHONES, OLD BEEPERS Against Hezbollah

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                

An ambulance rushes wounded people to a hospital in Beirut, Sept. 17, 2024, after hundreds of people were reportedly wounded when Hezbollah members' paging devices exploded simultaneously across Lebanon.ANWAR AMRO/AFP/Getty

The surprise of all surprises just happened when all of a sudden, large old pagers; beepers and phones in Hezbollah pockets exploded, injuring many more terrorists than was even known about in Lebanon and Syria, about several thousand of them,  which also killed 12 people.   Such a communication system was invented in 1949,   1950s and 1960s.                                    

Also known as beepers or bleeper, pagers are wireless devices that receive and display voice or alphanumeric messages. There are one-way pagers that can only receive messages, and two-way pagers that can also send messages. When choosing a pager, you can consider things like range, battery life, durability, ease of use, and additional features. 

 I'd say that Hezbollah should be out of commission for a while.  The pagers that blew up had apparently been acquired by Hezbollah after the group's leader ordered members in February to stop using cell phones, warning they could be tracked by Israeli intelligence. A Hezbollah official told the AP that the pagers were a new brand, but declined to say how long they had been in use.

No one has claimed this surprise but small amounts of an explosive inside the pagers were detonated at the same moment.  It happened in a southern Beirut suburb and the Beqaa region of eastern Lebanon, where Hezbollah has a strong presence, and in Damascus, where several Hezbollah members were wounded, 

Iran's ambassador to Lebanon was among the injured.  

The mysterious incident came amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, which have exchanged fire across the Israel-Lebanon border since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that sparked the war in Gaza.

9/18/24:  A 2nd attacked has commenced.  BEIRUT (AP) — Walkie-talkies and solar equipment exploded in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon on Wednesday in an apparent second wave of attacks targeting devices a day after pagers used by Hezbollah blew up, state media and officials for the militant group said. At least 14 people were killed and more than 450 wounded in the second wave, the Health Ministry said.

Resource:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hezbollah-lebanon-explosions-pagers-israel-hamas-war/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pager#:~:text=A%20pager%2C%20also%20known%20as,messages%20using%20an%20internal%20transmitter.

Continued: The Hamas Leadership of Palestine Terrorism Created a State Part II

Iron Dome Stopping a rocket

Hamas did not stop shooting at Israel after 2005

Nadene Goldfoot
2006:  1,722 rocket attacks,        55 mortar attacks = total attacks 1,777; 9 dead, 371 injured

2007:  1,276   "         "            1,531   "          "        =  "                  2,807, 10 "      578  "

2008:  2,048  "         "             1,668   "         "         =  "                  3,716, 15 "      611  "
                                                                         
                                                                       

Ashkelon, hit constantly along with Sderot

OPERATION CAST LEAD

About 1,400 dead, 5,000 wounded Palestinians

2009:   569 rocket attacks,        289 mortar attacks  = total attacks 858,     2 dead,  11 injured

2010:  150    "         "       ,         215   "         "          = total attacks 365,     5 dead, 35 injured

2011:  419   "         "                  261   "         "         = total attacks  680,     3 dead, 81 injured

2012: 2,256 "         "                    17  "         "          = total attacks 2,273,   6  "    ,284 injured

2013:     11             "                     6   "                    =   total terrorist attacks 14,   5 dead,   6 injured

2014:   135 rocket attacks           17    "                    =  total terrorist attacks 152, 10 dead, 6 injured

                                                                   

                                                                       

In March  2014 between the 12th and 14th, 60 rockets fell. This was before, during and after Purim.   

Today, June 27, 2014:  A total of 6 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip, with the remaining 4 landing in open territory.
Update: 6/28: In center of Gaza were underground rocket launchers, Israel hit them, retaliation from Hamas of 5 to 6  rockets hitting Sderot, causing fire in industrial section.
Update: 6/30  Gaza has fired 15 rockets into Israel last night and this morning.
Update:7/12  Gaza has fired over 700 rockets in the past 5 days into Israel reaching the far corners: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, etc. .     Calm will be met by calm from Israel has been ignored; too late for cease fire now; Israel intends to cripple their capability for many years to come  Enough!! Day-aynu !          

Resource: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_rocket_attacks_on_Israel
http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/terrorism/terrisrael-11.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Palestinian_rocket_attacks_on_Israel,_2014
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_Gaza_War
http://www.globalresearch.ca/israel-s-operation-cast-lead-1-400-palestinians-deaths-5000-wounded/19524
http://www.timesofisrael.com/three-rockets-fired-at-israel-from-gaza-following-air-force-strike/
Update 6/28/14: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.601798
and http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4535501,00.html

Islamic Front Flatten Carlton Hotel in Aleppo, Syria With Deaths

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                      

The Islamic Front rebel group which amounts to an army of terrorists,  bomb-blasted the city of Aleppo and leveled the Carlton Hotel

which lies next to the city's ancient Citadel or fortress.  Did they call beforehand and warn everyone to get out of the hotel and that they were going to bomb it?  No, they wouldn't want to warn soldiers. So innocent people must have been killed.   The government's army had been using it as a military base.  The soldiers also use other buildings in this government-held area. 50 soldiers were killed in this blast.  How many injured is not known.   Aleppo is the ancient home of a large population of Jews which had made it the largest business center in Syria at one time.  It has history that is being destroyed by the bombings happening from both sides.  .

Syria is a very close neighbor to Israel, so what happens in Syria can affect Israel. The distance from Damascus to Jerusalem is only 135 miles or about 2 hours by car.  Damascus and Jerusalem have similar higher altitudes.  Tomorrow the temperature will be 59 to 78 in Damascus and 55 to 66 in Jerusalem.   Assad has been a terrible enemy as far as Israel is concerned, but sometimes an enemy you know is better than new ones, and in this case, the rebels are terrorists bent on Sharia law, which can include fatwas against Israel and be unrestrained in their zeal to destroy Israel.  Syria is a declared enemy of Israel, but Israel has been accepting injured Syrian to come across their border and they are giving them medical assistance. At least 700 have been treated so far in the Golan alone.  I wonder if Assad, being a doctor himself, understands this.
                                                                 

   
Syria has been engaged with 200,000 missiles aimed at Israel.   Just  last year on May 5th, they had 200,000 missile batteries aimed at Israel.  Israel went over and supposedly bombed the target.  Assad knew he had it coming.
                                                                 
Here, we have Assad being attacked by the Muslim Brotherhood who were the instigators in this case of causing Assad's retaliations and the beginnings of the Civil War.  The Muslim Brotherhood's charter says that their goal is to destroy Israel, so I really have no trust in rooting for the rebels.  Assad was a horrible anti-Semite himself who locked up the Jews in Syria and wouldn't allow them outside his country.  They were virtual prisoners, with many actually being in prison until Judith Feld Carr came to their aid and got them out of Syria.

The group had been called the Syrian Islamic Front up till November 2013 and was anywhere from 13,000 to 25,000 strong and are Salafists who believe in Jihadism.  They have now unified other groups with them so changed their name.

 They are pals of the Al Nusra Front and the Free Syrian Army.  Their aims are of course to topple Assad's government and establish an Islamic state governed by Sharia law for all Syrians.  This is not the case with Assad who has been on the secular side.  Funding for their cause comes from other conservative Salafis in the Persian Gulf, rich donors like the Kuwaiti preacher, Hajjaj al-Ajami, Suadi-based Syrian preacher Adnan al-Aroor, and Kuwaiti politician Hakim al-Mutayi.  They are said to be less extreme than even more radical groups in Syria like Jabhat al-Nusra which is labeled as a terrorist organization by the USA already and is supposedly not a part of their group. They  may  have more support with Syrians according to journalist Liz Sly of the Washington Post.

The Front was against USA intervention against Assad.  On September 5th of last year they issued a statement saying that it rejected Western military intervention in Syria and said they consider such meddling as a new aggression against Muslims and would only serve American interests and not their cause to topple Assad.

On November 22nd, leaders in the Islamic Front were part of a declaration of uniting rebel groups who had been operating under the banners of the SIF, the Syrian Islamic Liberation Front.  They announced on their Google Plus account that it was disbanding and its groups would operate under the new name of the Islamic Front.  Is a brotherhood of Muslims the same thing as this group of Muslims intending to establish a Sharia Law society?  Seems as if the Muslim Brotherhood is alive and well here.  "The group is widely seen as backed and armed by Saudi Arabia.

The pact of 7 groups are made up of the following:

On 22 November, seven Islamist groups agreed to a pact that would dissolve the groups individually and lead to the formation of the Islamic Front. The groups are:

• Aleppo's largest opposition fighting force Liwa al-Tawhid (formerly part of the Syrian Islamic Liberation Front)
• Salafist Ahrar al-Sham^[(formerly part of the Syrian Islamic Front)^[ 
• Homs-based Liwa al-Haqq (formerly part of Syrian Islamic Front)^[
• Idlib-based Suqour al-Sham (formerly part of the Syrian Islamic Liberation Front)
• Damascus-based Jaysh al-Islam^[14] (formerly part of Syrian Islamic Liberation Front)
• Ansar al-Sham (formerly part of the Syrian Islamic Front)
• Kurdish Islamic Front

Resource:  http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4517569,00.html on Syria
http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/1.589514
Messages of a Syrian Jew Trapped in Egypt, http://amazon.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_Islamic_Front
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_Front_(Syria)
Jerusalem Post May 5, 2013 Syria aims missile batteries at Israel
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/01/27/evidence-points-to-secret-israeli-strike-on-syrian-missile-launchers/
http://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-allows-first-peek-into-secret-field-hospital-on-syrian-border/

Israelis in Boston Marathon

Nadene Goldfoot
We all feel deeply for Boston who has just faced terror from a terrorist, something Israel has been facing for over 65 years.  Even in 1929, the year of America's stock crash, terror was great in the  Jewish city, Hebron,  in Palestine. In that attack, 67 Jews were killed of which 23 of them were college students.   So far 3 people, one a grad student at Boston U*,  an 8 year old boy  and a 29 year old lady have died in the Boston Marathon terror with about  140 sent to the hospital for injuries great and small.  There are those that have lost their limbs from this outrage. The  2  bombs  that exploded were finally listed as a terror attack.  These bombs were loaded wit nail-like objects without heads,  metallic fragments and pellets to be able to cause more harm and blood-letting.  They were brought into the area in a black nylon bag or backpack.

There were 16 Israelis running in the 26 mile long Boston Marathon.  23,336 people from every country participated.  It made me want to cry to see all the flags taken down and laid on the street hurriedly knowing how flags are usually treated..   In the words of Tzviki Bronstein, age 57, one of the runners, "It was packed."  75.3% of the runners had already finished when the bombs exploded at the end of the race.  This means that 17,580 people had crossed the finish line.   " It was lucky that more weren't killed." commented Tzviki.     He luckily had finished the race before the 2 bombs went off and was already almost at his hotel when they did explode. There was even an entry for 80 year-olds and older.  3 men and 12 women had entered this one.  8.3% had reached the finish line.  .   It is thought that tthe bombs were set on a timer remotely controlled and that they were possibly in a pressure cooker.  To see the 78 year old runner bowled over and crumble in a heap by the bomb's force made you realize the invisible power bombs have.  

Israel has had nearly 2,500 citizens killed in terror attacks.  Right at the moment we have Rachel Biton's 3 year old baby girl fighting for her life from stone throwing, now also listed as a terror attack.  Stones can hit that delicate spot on the head and cause death, just like a bullet.  Just because it's a primitive act from the Stone Age doesn't make it less lethal.

Israel has been hit with rockets, mortars and missiles since 2001 in southern Israel from the Gazan terrorists, Hamas and other extremists groups.    Hamas is held responsible for them all.  This is an act of war, as there is no peace treaty,  not even a recognition, only threats and charters swearing to wipe Israel out.  It is also an act of terror, hitting on civilian populations.

I moved to Israel in 1980 and soon learned not to pick up anything off the ground in Haifa in order to keep the sidewalk looking neat and clean.    It could be a bomb.  Bombs were placed in loaves of bread, or any item.  At the Tzfat junior high where I taught there were always several inspectors, children who inspected bags, purses, etc.  One has to be very careful in Israel.  It was expected that when I went shopping, my purse would first be checked out.  Once in a shopping area, a robot was called in to check out a bakery box left on the ground that either held cookies or a bomb.  I watched the whole procedure of the robot shooting it with the  result ;  crumbled cookies.

 Now, maybe 33 years later the USA is going to have to take more precautions.   Israelis had been in Boston teaching techniques of dealing with terrorism before this incident in a workshop for hospitals.  We don't even have any idea as to who this latest terrorist happens to be; someone who is an angry American citizen or al Qaeda.   Being it was North Korea's anniversary, it could be one of them.  We've already checked out a lone Saudi Arabian student who was one of the injured. It was said he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.   It was Income Tax Day also, so it could have been someone angry about taxes as well.

8:00pm: * one victim later identified as a Chinese national
Resource:  http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/sixteen-israelis-ran-in-bombed-boston-marathon/2013/04/16/?src=ataglance
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/130416/boston-marathon-runners-explosion-2013-data
http://www.homelandsecurityssi.com/homeland-security-training-israel
NPR on 4/16/13 about Israel training session on terror
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1929_Hebron_massacre