The Unsung Heroes Israel Forgot, and Their Fight to be Recognized

When the sirens blared on the morning of Simchat Torah, October 7, 2023, signaling the start of the Iron Swords War, hundreds of Israeli reservists dropped everything to serve. They weren’t wielding rifles on the front lines but shouldering an equally traumatic task: identifying, processing, and burying the war’s dead.

For over 400 days, these members of the IDF’s casualty handling units worked relentlessly, day and night, through Shabbat and holidays, to ensure dignity for thousands of fallen soldiers and civilians. Now, they’re fighting a new battle, not against an enemy, but for recognition from their own country.

This week, as reported by Kan News yesterday (Tuesday), hundreds of reservists, including doctors, investigators, and commanders from the Malbach Brigade and Southern and Northern Command battalions (Yakaf), launched a public and political campaign.

Their grievance is too depressing to be true: while combatants received benefits for their service, these reservists, who endured extreme physical and mental strain, were left out. “We’re not asking for the status of combatants,” they said in a collective statement, “just recognition for what we went through.”

Their work was harrowing. Mobilized within hours of Hamas’s attack, they handled thousands of bodies, often under intense pressure to provide rapid, dignified burials and notify grieving families. They conducted 871 funerals and joined operations to locate fallen soldiers and hostages, all while grappling with the psychological toll of their role. “We faced the aftermath,” they explained, a euphemism for the trauma of processing death on an industrial scale.

The reservists’ demands are modest yet profound: official acknowledgment of their mental health risks and unique contribution, funding for therapy (including for their partners), retroactive rest days, and financial aid to ease their return to civilian life.

Their campaign, shared on social media with the hashtag #RecognitionForCasualtyHandlers, invites reservists and their families to share personal stories of service and its lingering scars. “We didn’t go out with weapons,” their posts begin, “but we came back with scars.”

The contrast with combatants’ benefits also goes to the deeper issue of how societies value those who handle war’s unseen burdens. In Israel, where military service is a rite of passage, the reservists’ exclusion feels like a betrayal.

Their 400-day marathon, starting from the war’s chaotic outset, included moments of quiet heroism, ensuring a soldier’s body reached a family for closure, or identifying remains under unimaginable conditions. Yet, the state’s silence has left them feeling more than unrecognized and unappreciated: totally erased.

The campaign arrives at a fraught moment. Israel is navigating the war’s aftermath, with hostage negotiations ongoing and regional tensions continuously escalating. The reservists’ plea for mental health support echoes a broader need for national healing, as families and communities rebuild. Their fight is not just for benefits but for a place in Israel’s collective memory, a reminder that wars leave wounds beyond the battlefield.

As the reservists take their case to the public, their voices carry a universal truth: those who tend to the fallen bear a unique burden, one that demands not just gratitude but action. “We deserve support for our resilience,” they insist, “just like those on the front lines.”

For Israel, honoring that call may be a step toward mending a nation still counting its losses.