Israel’s top general has warned the government that a shortage of combat troops could limit the army’s ability to conduct future missions against Hamas in Gaza.
Lieut Gen Eyal Zamir, who recently assumed command of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), told prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his cabinet that military strategies cannot achieve Israel’s war aims in Gaza, particularly in the absence of a complementary diplomatic track.
Fighting continues in Gaza, with Israeli forces expanding a buffer zone along the border aimed at pressuring Hamas to release more hostages as part of a deal drawn up by American, Qatari and Egyptian mediators. However, after 18 months of conflict, Hamas, although weakened militarily, is still in control of most of Gaza.
A full reoccupation of the coastal enclave by Israel would likely take many months, possibly years, and require the drafting of tens of thousands of IDF reservists.
Many combat soldiers have already spent hundreds of days with their units over the past 18 months, leaving their families and jobs behind. Current reservist participation rates in combat units stands at 60-70 per cent, according to the military. This is in contrast to a call-up rate of 120 per cent in reserve combat units at the start of the Gaza war, when soldiers no longer required also asked to enlist.
The marked drop in motivation creates a huge headache for Israeli leaders who are contemplating a significant escalation in the fighting if there is no diplomatic breakthrough soon.
Many soldiers who are refusing draft orders complain that the government continues to permit ultra-Orthodox men of military age to avoid mandatory service. Ultra-Orthodox parties in Mr Netanyahu’s government have threatened to quit the coalition if yeshiva seminary students are drafted.
Meanwhile, thousands of IDF reservists and veterans have signed letters criticising the war in Gaza.
The protest movement started a few weeks ago with a letter circulated by former air force pilots. Since then, similar letters have been signed by navy, armoured corps, paratroopers, special forces, Mossad and intelligence unit reservists.
The letters differed slightly, but most called for an immediate return of the hostages through a deal, an end to the war which they said is being motivated by personal and political considerations, a state commission of inquiry into the October 7th, 2023 Hamas attack and the draft of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews to the IDF.
Netanyahu said the letters “were written by a small group of radicals, operated by foreign-funded organisations with one goal – to overthrow the right-wing government”.
