Israel’s Defense Minister, Israel Katz, said Monday that 4,000 of the roughly 6,000 people who took part in the October 7, 2023 attacks have been killed, with about 2,000 still unaccounted for.
“Six thousand terrorists crossed the border into Israel on October 7 and carried out the atrocities. Of them, 4,000 have been killed so far, leaving another 2,000,” Katz said in a statement.
The figures Katz cited were presented by Military Intelligence Directorate chief Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder during a cabinet meeting held Sunday night.
Earlier Israel Defense Forces assessments had put the number of attackers who crossed into Israel at around 5,600, with between 1,200 and 1,600 of them killed inside Israeli territory during the attack itself. The newly released figures raise the total number believed to have taken part to 6,000.
Separately, Israel says it has captured about 300 alleged participants in the attack, who are now awaiting judgment by special military tribunals that have not yet been established.
The update comes as the third anniversary of the October 7 attacks approaches, an assault that Israeli officials and many observers have described as the deadliest attack on Jewish people since the Holocaust.
