A report published by Israeli Channel 12 on Tuesday, June 11, 2024, revealed that Chief of Staff Hertzi Halevi informed the political leadership that the Israeli army needs to add 15 battalions, equivalent to a military division consisting of 4,500 soldiers, to carry out the required tasks on various fronts.
The report added that the severe shortage of forces was not only due to the war but also due to the need to increase the size of the forces so that the Israeli army can perform additional tasks.
As part of the Israeli army’s efforts to address the severe shortage of forces, five battalions are being formed, composed of soldiers who were previously exempted from service but will be reinstated because they still meet the criteria.
The Israeli Channel 12 report indicated that the manpower crisis in the Israeli army has become costly, with the amount spent from the state’s treasury since the beginning of the war to recruit reserve forces exceeding 40 billion shekels (approximately 10 billion dollars).
These financial burdens are added to the overall cost of the Israeli war on Gaza, which may exceed $67 billion, as warned by the Governor of the Bank of Israel, Amir Yaron, a few days ago.
The warnings from the Israeli Chief of Staff come against the backdrop of a crisis over the vote on a law exempting ultra-Orthodox Jews from military service.
The Israeli Knesset had approved a bill extending the exemption of ultra-Orthodox Jews from military service, with the consent of all members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition, except his Defense Minister, Yoav Galant, who opposed it.
The bill exempting ultra-Orthodox Jews from conscription was passed by a majority of 63 Knesset members, compared to 57 opponents.
This means the continuation of the application of the previous Knesset law, exempting ultra-Orthodox Jews from compulsory conscription, amidst the war being waged by the Israeli occupation on Gaza.
This was not the first time that Israeli media spoke about a crisis of manpower shortage in the Israeli occupation army.
Several days ago, the reserve forces of the Israeli occupation army began seeking volunteers to fight in the Gaza Strip through advertisements on WhatsApp, due to the severe shortage of soldiers experienced by the reserve units as the war entered its ninth month, according to an investigation by Israeli Channel 12.
The Israeli channel quoted a reserve soldier as saying, “There is a significant attrition among the soldiers, and significant pressure from families and workplaces.”
A reservist officer said that at the beginning of the war, the attendance rate reached 120%, while it currently barely reaches 70%.
Israel Hayom website also reported that the Israeli occupation army established a battalion of soldiers over the age of 40 who were already exempted from service due to manpower shortages.
This comes as the northern borders of Israel witness a significant escalation with Hezbollah in recent times, while data published by Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper showed an increase in Hezbollah’s attacks on northern areas in Israel.
According to the data, Hezbollah launched 325 attacks on northern areas in Israel during last May.
The data also showed a significant increase in Hezbollah’s use of anti-tank missiles and drones.
