Troop shortages limit Israel’s ability to achieve war goals in Gaza, army chief warns

JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL

The Israeli army chief warned that troop shortages limit Israel’s ability to achieve its war goals in the Gaza Strip.

“Military-only strategies cannot fulfill all national objectives in Gaza, particularly in the absence of a complementary diplomatic track,” Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the cabinet as cited by the daily Yedioth Ahronoth.

Hundreds of Israeli reserve soldiers and veterans have signed petitions demanding an end to the Gaza war and the return of captives through a prisoner swap with Palestinians.

In response, Netanyahu has threatened to dismiss active-duty soldiers who signed the petitions.

Yedioth Ahronoth said the army chief’s warning underscores the growing disconnect between the military’s operational capacity and the government’s broader political aspirations.

According to Israeli media, the army has been facing a shortage of soldiers due to the exemption of ultra-Orthodox Jews from military service as well as the reluctance and the battle fatigue of the regular troops after 18 months of war in Gaza.

Figures released by Yedioth Ahronoth showed that the current reservist participation rates in combat units stood between 60% and 70%.

“There is concern that those numbers will not improve in the event of a broader offensive,” said a military source.

The Israeli army renewed its assault on Gaza on March 18, shattering a Jan. 19 ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.

Nearly 51,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.