At least 35 Israeli soldiers have been killed in southern Lebanon or on the Lebanese border since Israel invaded its northern neighbour at the start of the month in an escalation of its war against Hezbollah. The Lebanese militant group has said it has killed more than 90 Israeli soldiers, although these figures are unverified.

At least 19 soldiers have also died this month in continuing fighting with Hamas in Gaza, where Israel is accused of carrying out a campaign of ethnic cleansing and extermination against Palestinians trapped in the north of the enclave.

Information about casualties is tightly controlled in Israel where the media is subjected to strict military censorship. That has led some to question whether official figures may be under-reporting the real scale of losses suffered by Israeli forces in Gaza and Lebanon.