The Ministry of Health Refuses to Comply with IDF Spokesperson’s New Restrictions on Reporting War Casualties
The Ministry of Health has made the decision not to comply with the new directives of the IDF spokesperson, which were intended to impose new restrictions on them in regards to reports concerning war casualties. N12 reported today (Sunday) that the Ministry of Health will not adhere to the army’s demand for hospital spokesmen to approve in advance any report on wounded soldiers, citing their commitment to “transparency to the public while maintaining medical confidentiality.”
Last week, the IDF spokesperson demanded that public hospital spokesmen in Israel refrain from reporting to the public about wounded soldiers arriving at the hospitals, and sought to subordinate them to the IDF spokesperson. The Ministry of Health and the hospitals argue that the IDF spokesperson does not have the authority to make such demands, and assert that they will continue to report on wounded soldiers as they did before the war, with updates from family members and without disclosing specific details of the soldiers.
In response to the IDF spokesperson’s attempt to pre-approve reports of injuries, Health Ministry spokeswoman Shira Solomon sent a letter to Lt. Col. Adi Barel Even, head of the communications branch at the IDF spokesperson, stating that hospital spokespeople will continue to operate based on principles of transparency and medical confidentiality, and will not comply with the demand to submit reports for approval in advance.
This decision means that hospital spokespeople will report on wounded soldiers as before, with updates from family members and in compliance with medical privacy and confidentiality guidelines, as well as instructions from the censor if applicable.
The IDF recently released the first official count of soldiers wounded in the conflict, with a total of 1,593 soldiers injured since the beginning of the war, including 255 who were seriously injured, 446 moderately injured, and 892 lightly injured. Since the start of the ground maneuver in the Gaza Strip, 559 soldiers have been injured, with 127 seriously injured, 213 moderately injured, and 219 lightly injured. The total number of soldiers killed since the start of the war is 425, with 97 killed since the ground maneuver in Gaza began. Currently, 416 soldiers are hospitalized in various hospitals across the country, with 40 in serious condition, 211 in moderate condition, and the rest in light condition.
The Ministry of Health’s refusal to comply with the IDF spokesperson’s new restrictions marks a significant development in the ongoing reporting of war casualties, as the two entities continue to assert their respective positions on the issue.