In addition to the 60,000 who are currently being called up, the army plans to “extend the service of 20,000 active-duty reservists.”
The Israeli army is “struggling” to find enough reservists to report for duty, with many questioning the purpose of the ongoing military operation in Gaza, according to the Wall Street Journal.
This comes as Israel seeks to call up 60,000 reservists for the army’s new offensive on Gaza City, employing “unusual methods to find enough men,” the report stated.
“I’m looking for combat soldiers, mainly medics and snipers for an operation of 70 days starting on September 11,” a commander posted recently in a WhatsApp group for Israeli university students, the report said.
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But with many polls showing as much as 80 percent of the Israeli public wanting the government to agree to a ceasefire deal, as well as growing discontent over the military operation in Gaza, a shortage of reservists has been developing over the past few months.
Criticism of Netanyahu
One company commander reportedly said he started sending out a form where reservists can indicate which specific dates they are not available.
The online form “allows reservists to rank how important their request for leave was from 1 to 5,” the report stated, and to “ease the burden, the troops will also be moving to a more flexible model where they serve one week followed by a week break for the duration of the 90-day tour, which was just extended.”
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In addition to the 60,000 who are currently being called up, the army plans to “extend the service of 20,000 active-duty reservists.”
‘Dying for Nothing’
A military official told the paper that the Gaza City operation will be comprised of mainly mandatory service soldiers, “those who have been called up to complete their three years in the armed forces.” While some reservists will serve in Gaza, others will be replacing soldiers in Syria, Lebanon and the occupied West Bank.
One master sergeant who has served for 400 days since October 7, reportedly said “he has come to believe that people are dying for nothing and that Netanyahu is prolonging the war for his own political survival,” the report stated.
He also reportedly said Hamas “can’t be completely destroyed because of the way it conducts guerrilla warfare.”
The wife of a reserve commander said his accumulated 580 days of service led to him coming home in “a state of shock after identifying the body of a fellow reservist who had died by suicide.”
Dalit Kislev Spektor said many men in her husband’s 150-man unit “have lost their jobs, gotten divorced or faced financial ruin over their prolonged service.”
‘Immoral Behavior’
The report noted that reservists “serve only a few weeks a year until the age of 40 or 45 depending on their position, but can get exemptions from reserve duty even though it is mandatory.”
Another combat engineer told the paper that his service was recently extended to the end of November, a move that has affected both his motivation and that of other soldiers in his unit.
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A group of reservists cited ideological reasons, including “immoral behavior” as their reasons for not returning for duty.
One soldier said a commander reported that his forces had “accidentally” shot three Palestinian women, killing one, and asked “for permission to dump the wounded women in a humanitarian zone.” He said a senior commander agreed to the request, and that he was “shocked by the nonchalant way the matter was discussed.”
Over 63,000 Killed
Since reneging on the ceasefire on March 18, Israel has continued its bloody aerial bombardment across the Gaza Strip, killing and wounding thousands of Palestinians.
Starting on October 7, 2023, the Israeli military, with American support, launched a genocidal war against the people of Gaza. This campaign has so far resulted in the deaths of more than 63,500 Palestinians, with more than 160,000 wounded. The vast majority of the population has been displaced, and the destruction of infrastructure is unprecedented since World War II. Thousands of people are still missing.
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In addition to the military assault, the Israeli blockade has caused a man-made famine, leading to the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians—mostly children—with hundreds of thousands more at risk.
Despite widespread international condemnation, little has been done to hold Israel accountable. The nation is currently under investigation for genocide by the International Court of Justice, while accused war criminals, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, are officially wanted by the International Criminal Court.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
