A top Israeli general warns the military faces potential collapse due to manpower shortages and increasing demands on multiple fronts.
Alarm in the Israeli Military
General Zamir voiced concerns after the government approved the establishment of 30 additional checkpoints in the West Bank, according to Channel 13. He believes the army needs new regulations: a conscription law, mandatory reserve duty, and an extension of mandatory military service.
“Soon the military will not be ready for routine missions, and the reserve system will not hold, and the army may collapse under its own weight,” Zamir warned.
15,000 Soldiers “Immediately” Needed
According to Defrin, the Israeli military needs approximately 15,000 additional soldiers, including 7,000-8,000 combat soldiers. Israeli command has repeatedly reported personnel shortages since the outbreak of the war in the Gaza Strip following the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.
Expanding Fronts Increase Demand
In early March, after Hezbollah joined the war on the side of Iran by shelling northern Israel, Israel launched an operation in southern Lebanon. An army spokesperson emphasized that the Lebanese front would be permanent, similar to the commitment in the Gaza Strip and Israel’s presence in Syria, increasing the need for additional forces.
Conscription Plan Stalled
In 2024, the Israeli Supreme Court issued a ruling that ended the long-standing systemic privilege of the ultra-Orthodox community, exempting them from conscription. The ruling obligated the government to begin recruitment, leading to numerous protests by this community against military enlistment in 2025.
The Benjamin Netanyahu government is to develop a conscription plan, but has yet to present a concrete solution.
Ultra-Orthodox Exemption Fuels Tension
The ultra-Orthodox constitute approximately 13 percent of Israeli society. Nearly half of the men in this group do not work and primarily study religious texts, receiving state stipends for doing so. An estimated 80,000 ultra-Orthodox men between the ages of 18 and 24 evade military service, exacerbating social tensions, especially in the context of conflict on multiple fronts.
Mobilization and Reserve Limitations
The Israeli army currently consists of approximately 170,000 active-duty soldiers and nearly half a million reservists. Following the events of October 7, 2023, around 300,000 reservists were called up, marking the largest mobilization in Israeli history.
Due to financial reasons, the government limited the number of reservists and shortened the mobilization period in 2026.