Israel’s ‘forever war’ stretches IDF to the limit

With Hamas gunmen still roaming in bases and villages in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, Itay Marinberg fill a bag, accepted his wife and two young girls goodbye, and went to fight.

He became one of about 300,000 Israeli reserve experts who were filled early in the war, where he worked for 200 days through three combat rounds in Gaza-with more expected more later this year-while it became a multi-mountainous land campaign across southern Lebanon, Syria and the occupied West Bank.

“We were told to prepare for five years of intense fighting,” said his wife, Chen Erbal Marinberg, who helped find a non -profit reserve wives forum to provide support for tens of thousands of families like her salary.

As Israel renewed its attack against Hamas this week, it faces Ittai and thousands of other reserve soldiers in the Israeli defense forces – some of whom were wearing the uniform twice – are now facing an immediate return to war.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the new New Jaundice President, Eyal Zamir, threatened to follow their air campaign in Gaza with a new fierce attack if Hamas refuses to launch more Israeli hostages.

However, it is unclear how clear the armed forces in Israel can take. For most of its history, Israel chose to fight short and decisive wars, as most campaigns were measured in days and weeks, to reduce the burden on reserve soldiers, it would call for an increase in the regular army.

With no end on the horizon, defense analysts and reserves began to warn of the increasing decrease in combat power, with jobs, families and a suspended life.

They also refer to the signs of disappointment with Netanyahu’s goals and his right -wing ministry, who excluded the end of the fighting despite the general pressure on an agreement to bring the hostages remaining by Hamas.

For the first time [since the start of the war] Amos Harril, a defense analyst for Haritz newspaper and author of a Civil Relations-In

“This may become a bigger problem if there is no consensus behind the war.”

Zamir, a former tank commander in the face that seized the army this month, warned while the deputy head of the Israeli Defense Army staff was in 2021, against Israel’s move towards a “smaller and more intelligent” combat force based on technology, air force and special forces.

He said that the country will instead need a “critical bloc” of the forces to fight what might be in the future “a heavy, long and multi -term campaign.” Earlier this month, he said: “2025 will be a year of war.”

In Israel, most Jewish men and women are committed to recruiting the army for two to three years at the age of 18. After that, many continue to reserves, with an estimated 450,000, they are likely to complete the permanent army of about 170,000 soldiers.

But before the current war, Chen said, “Dealing with the Israeli Defense Army was.” [to serve] 30 days a year. “

According to the figures of the IDF, more than 800 soldiers have been killed and about 6000 people were injured since the beginning of the war, as some analysts argue that the last number is higher when calculating mental health and post -trauma disorder.

This conflict affected the devastating Israel neighbors, with more than 48,000 people killed in Gaza, 4000 in Lebanon, and about 1,000 in the West Bank, according to local health authorities. The numbers include civilians and fighters.

Israeli military officials argue that 10,000 additional soldiers – especially new and pedestrian shield films – are needed to better defend Israel’s borders and buffer areas “indefinitely” within the neighboring lands.

But analysts warn that such changes on the IDF organizational structure will take time to develop. And plans to expand the army will collide with a greater challenge: the issue of whether a young, young, young young people should have (SilkyJewish men.

Ultra-Arthodox, which constitutes about 14 percent of the population, has been exempt from military service since the foundation of Israel, a policy that has faced increased resistance until October 7. The Supreme Court considered it unconstitutional and the vast majority of the Israeli -Jewish public demand are also serving.

Netanyahu, who adopts his alliance Silky The allies have clarified his government that does not intend to recruit the super -Orthodox. Only a few hundred Silky Men have been recruited during the past year, among more than 10,000 draft requests sent by the Israeli Defense Army, according to official figures.

According to a survey of the forum for reserve wives last November, about 80 percent of the respondents said that their motives for service had decreased since the war began due to the lack of both recruitment in the strong and wonderful difficulties.

Benjamin, a married father for two children who served early in the war, said that while he wants to return to service, he could not.

“The family will collapse,” he said. “My wife is unable to be alone with children and the company [which I manage] He will be closed.

“There was no radical change in recruitment rates, and units meet their missions,” the Israeli Defense Army, who does not set numbers on attrition, said in a statement.

Many of the reserve soldiers who spoke to the Vinanchel Times times, although it is rare to give up the reserve expert on their entire unity, but they are now likely to miss a call for training or operational duty for personal reasons.

One of the reserve officers stationed for several months near the Gaza border said that the rate of reports of some reserve units has become “less than half”.

This coarse number was confirmed by Harril, the defense analyst, who added that the broader discussion about the war is likely to double anger.

Opinion polls show that more than 60 percent of Israelis want to force Netanyahu a deal with Hamas to return the remaining hostages, even if that means ending the war. However, the Prime Minister, under pressure from his right -wing extremist political allies, has pledged not to stop fighting until Hamas was eliminated.

The opposition parties and hostages say that the escalation will expose the lives of those who are still detained in Gaza, on the pretext that the war is politicized to ensure that the Netanyahu alliance remains.

Netanyahu’s attempt last week to shoot the head of the local espionage agency deepened the local turmoil, and fears of a constitutional crisis, before the October 7 attack, led thousands of reserve soldiers to suspend their service in the protest.

Harril said that the reserve soldiers may do this again if they feel “aim to sacrifice themselves to achieve the real right -wing extremist goals of rebuilding settlements in Gaza and expelling all Palestinians, not only destroying Hamas and restoring hostages.”

In recent days, one of the navigators and intelligence officer in the Air Force said that they are suspending their reserve service, as the latter said on X that he would not participate in a war and not in the “interests of the people of Israel.” Both of them came out.

However, however, they feel towards the Prime Minister, most reserve soldiers say they will continue to report what they consider an existential battle.

David had long left the duty of the war when the war broke out, but he volunteered to serve six months in Gaza and another round in the West Bank.

He said that although a quarter of his unit had limited its availability, he was insisting that “people would appear as soon as he received the call again.”

He said: “Our homes are there and I will not leave my comrades.” “The war may be eternally”, Netanyahu, for sure, but there are still things that we need to accomplish. “

Drawing maps of the Toshinski Classes