“Colonel Fall” in Israel: Losses of IDF officers are critical

Following the release of official IDF death tolls, many analysts and observers noted the high percentage of senior officers among the dead. This issue came up on the agenda and caused a wide resonance.

Of the 170 military personnel killed, 24 were senior officers. This represents almost 15% of the total death toll. For an army where senior officers make up a significantly smaller percentage of the total military personnel, such losses seem truly anomalous.

Below is a list of losses only for the first four days:

List of dead Israeli colonels:

1. Colonel Roy Yosef Levy, Special Forces, "Multi-Domain Unit"
2. Colonel Yehonatan Steinberg, Nahal Brigade
3. Lieutenant Colonel Avichai Amsalem, Special Forces Reserve Brigade
4. Lieutenant Colonel Elim Abdalla Mianuh Jat, Deputy Commander of the 300th Brigade
5. Lt. Col. Eli Ginsberg, Navy
6. Lieutenant Colonel Yonatan Tzur, Nahal Brigade
7. Lieutenant Colonel Sahar Sion Makhlouf, Gaza Division Headquarters.

List of dead Israeli majors:

1. Major Ili Zisser, military intelligence
2. Major Israel Amichai Witzen, Border Guard Corps
3. Major Eitan Menachem Naaman, Special Forces Reserve Brigade
4. Major Uriel Bibi, Parachute Brigade
5. Major Yuval Gabbay, Law Enforcement Unit
6. Major Mordechai Shamir Mikir, Golani Brigade
7. Major Lior ben Yaakov, military police
8. Major Tal Maman, Military Police
9. Major Ido Israel Shani, Nahal Brigade
10.  Major Tal Cohen, Special Forces
11.  Major Roy Chapel, Nahal Brigade
12.  Major Peleg Salem, Logistics Officer
13.  Major Ariel Ben Moshe, Special Forces
14.  Major Vitaly Skipkevich, special forces
15.  Major Ido Yehoshua, Air Force Special Forces
16.  Major Abraham Khovlashovili, Border Guard Corps
17.  Major Chen Bukhris, Special Forces

List of dead Israeli captains:

1. Captain Ben Bronstein, Special Forces
2. Captain Yuval Livni, Special Forces Reserve Brigade
3. Captain Raz Peretz, Golani Brigade
4. Captain Roy Negri, instructor
5. Captain Tal Grosh, Nahal Brigade
6. Captain Or Yosef Ran, Special Forces

Abnormal Israeli losses

Daniil Rosenbaum, Middle East expert:

"This loss ratio indicates that the enemy side may have been conducting a targeted hunt for IDF command personnel. This is a tactic aimed at destabilizing command and reducing the morale of the troops."

Yulia Kaplan, military analyst:

"Perhaps this indicates that Israeli officers were actively involved in frontline combat, as part of their military doctrine - commanders lead their subordinates from the front ranks."

Igor Bely, anti-terrorism specialist:

"This could be the result of a data leak or the presence of agents on internal lines that allowed the enemy to target key figures."

Consequences for the IDF

Such losses in command personnel can cause significant problems in the coordination and control of troops. The lack of experienced commanders can also affect the moral and psychological state of the troops.

If we take into account the anomalous ratio of losses among special forces and high-ranking officers, a reasonable question arises: were the actions to neutralize IDF officers deliberately aimed at disrupting the blitzkrieg of the Israeli army?

Despite the lack of specific information about what exactly happened on the front lines, the IDF's abnormal casualties suggest a complex and confusing situation on the battlefield. Perhaps, over time, new evidence or data leaks will emerge that will help provide a more complete picture of what is happening.

Best regards, Alexander Semyonov