Israel faces reserve troop, tank shortages: Army Radio

Israel's army is facing shortages of reserve personnel and combat-ready tanks, with some reserve formations nearing "effective collapse," according to a report by Israeli Army Radio on Tuesday.

Under the headline "The Army's Warning of the Collapse of the Reserve Forces," the broadcaster said reserve brigades and battalions are operating below strength, with insufficient tanks available for combat.

It said a reserve armored brigade was recently deployed to a key operational sector in Lebanon, but accounts from commanders and soldiers painted a different picture from the one presented by decision-makers.

"These are not full brigades," the report said. "They are far from it."

According to the broadcaster, the military no longer has enough combat-ready tanks after many were damaged in fighting and taken out of service, forcing reserve armored companies to operate with fewer tanks than required.

Since October 2023, Israel has conducted aggression on multiple fronts, including in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, while also exchanging attacks with Iran and Yemen's Houthi group and carrying out repeated strikes in Syria alongside expanded operations in the occupied West Bank.

Army Radio also said the military's method of calculating reserve attendance rates gives a more favorable picture by issuing call-up orders to fewer reservists, while some of those mobilized serve only limited periods.

As a result, it said units reporting attendance rates of between 50% and 70% are, in practice, operating at much lower effective strength at any given time.

"Reserve units today are empty. A battalion is not a full battalion, and a company is not really a company," the broadcaster quoted an unnamed reserve commander as saying.

"The public and decision-makers hear about full brigades in Lebanon, but in reality, they are much smaller formations," the commander said. "The numbers of soldiers, tanks, and vehicles are significantly lower."

He added that some reserve formations are in "effective collapse."

"There are units in better shape and others in worse condition. Everyone is doing their utmost, but it is difficult to continue under these circumstances," he said.

Army Radio cited another example, saying a reserve company recently completed "an operational mission" in Lebanon with only one officer remaining. According to the report, the company commander had been relieved of duty, there was no senior noncommissioned officer, and the unit was operating without a functioning chain of command.

The Israeli military does not disclose the number of troops deployed in Lebanon, the occupied West Bank, the Gaza Strip, or Syria.

The report follows a July 10 report by Yedioth Ahronoth that said the military had begun significantly reducing reserve call-ups, linking the move to "declining combat activity on multiple fronts."

Earlier, on July 5, Israel Hayom reported that the military planned to release thousands of reservists by the end of the month because of financial pressures facing the defense establishment.

The military is grappling with a severe funding shortfall after a sharp rise in operational spending, resulting in a budget deficit estimated at tens of billions of shekels.

This coincided with deep disagreements between the ministries of defense and finance regarding the size of the defense budget, as the military establishment demands that it be raised to record levels to cover the challenges of fighting on multiple fronts, while the Finance Ministry opposes the move for fear of exacerbating the deficit.

According to media reports, the two sides reached a temporary compromise under which additional funding will be provided in exchange for reducing reliance on reserve forces and cutting operational expenditures.