Historically, Israel has maintained a small standing army, relying on reservists to fill out its ranks during a series of short-lived wars. But the October 7 operation, thrust Israel into the longest conflict in its history. In the early months of the war, about 350,000 Israelis were called up, a staggering figure in a region of less than 10 million.
The losses, too, have been unprecedented. More than 800 soldiers have been killed since October 2023.
“Wherever you look — the economic crisis, the toll on the reservists and their families, and of course the dead and the wounded — Israeli society is definitely at the edge of its capacity,” said Gayil Talshir, a political analyst at Hebrew University.
The military, facing a possible shortage of troops, is planning to extend mandatory service in the standing army and increase the maximum age for reservists. Many soldiers are already at their breaking point.
A reservist in the special forces who has served for nearly 300 days over the past year said that his 12-man unit is down to five after seven refused to show up. He spoke on the condition of anonymity in compliance with military protocol.
“We never imagined a war that would be going so deep and going for so long,” he said. “And also, that there’s no one to replace us.”
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