Days after losing his son in battle, Minister Eisenkot’s nephew among several fallen Israeli soldiers in Gaza this weekend

The Israeli army announced the deaths of five more soldiers on Saturday evening, among them the nephew of War Cabinet Minister Gadi Eisenkot, who lost his son just two days ago.

As the battles of Jabaliya, Shaja'iya and Khan Younis enter their decisive phase, Israel's losses are mounting, even though the Israeli army has the upper hand.

Among the five soldiers announced as fallen in battle on Saturday was Sgt. Maor Cohen Eisenkot, the nephew of former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot and cousin of Gal Eisenkot, was killed in Jabaliya on Thursday.

Together with Cohen Eisenkot (19) who served in the Golani Brigade’s 12th Battalion and hailed from Eilat, three more soldiers were killed in the battles surrounding Khan Younis.

They were identified as Master Sgt. (res.) Liav Atiya (25), of the 55th Brigade’s 6623rd Battalion, from Beersheva; Master Sgt. (res.) Omri Ben Shachar (25), of the 55th Brigade’s 6623rd Battalion, from Givatayim; and Staff Sgt. Jonathan Dean Jr Haim (25), of the Combat Engineering Corps’ 603rd Battalion, from Ramat Gan.

Staff Sgt. Haim Meir Edan (20), of the Golani Brigade’s 12th Battalion, from Rehovot succumbed to his wound today after he suffered serious wounds on Oct. 7.

Two more soldiers were killed on Friday, meaning the death toll of Israeli soldiers during the ground operation in Gaza now stands at 97.

In addition, the IDF announced that 13 more soldiers were seriously injured in battles in the Gaza Strip during the weekend, and two more IDF soldiers were seriously wounded by an anti-tank missile fired by Hezbollah at northern Israel.

Despite a justified focus on announcements of fallen soldiers, what has been less reported is the fact that the Israeli army has lost around 60 soldiers per day to injuries of varying degrees, according to Ynet news.

Since Oct. 7, over 2,000 soldiers, police officers, and other security forces have been declared disabled as a result of their service.

“We have never experienced anything even similar to this,” Limor Luria, head of the rehab division at the Defense Ministry told Ynet.

“Over 58% of the wounded we receive have severe injuries of the hands and feet, including those that require amputations. About 12% are internal injuries - spleen, kidney, tearing of internal organs. There are also head and eye injuries, and about 7% are traumatized.”