War fatigue is starting to erode Israel’s military as it ploughs on with its relentless war on Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Burnout is making the country’s reservists increasingly unwilling to report for duty, according to Israeli media reports. Enlistment numbers have dropped by about 15% since the period after Hamas’ incursion of October 7, 2023, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a briefing.
Immediately after the Palestinian-Israeli conflict escalated, about 350,000 Israelis were called up. However, after participating in battles for months, many are now refusing to comply with orders to be deployed for a new round of fighting.
“The resource of reservists is not unlimited, and it is very difficult for people to be so absent in the midst of daily life. That is why there is a silent refusal to report for service, without protests or in a public way. They cannot be argued with, or demanded by force to come,” army sources told Yedioth Ahronoth.
There is also anger over a controversial draft bill that seeks to exempt approximately 60,000 ultra-Orthodox Haredi men from military service. Many of the reservists have lost their businesses and income while being away for extended periods of time. Yet the IDF is seeking to further increase the amount of time conscripts and reservists serve. Lawmakers will be asked to approve making mandatory military service for men three years long, as it had been until 2015.
Currently, male recruits serve 32 months, while women serve for two years. The amount of time required by reservists to serve per year will also change.
Besides its war on Hamas in the Gaza strip, Israel has been conducting a ground operation against Hezbollah forces in southern Lebanon since October 1, while also continuing airstrikes. Tel Aviv says its main objective is to create conditions for the return of 60,000 residents who fled shelling in the north.