As the early stages I call on tens of thousands of reserves to participate in the forthcoming military operation.
The occupation and possession of the largest city in its northern part, which Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as one of Hamas’ last strongholds, and extending 20,000 more.
These plans have caused increasing condemnation both internationally and internal, amid fears that the humanitarian and food crisis in Gaza will worsen and that the lives of the remaining hostages will be at an even greater risk than the enlarged military operation.
The Israeli army is already on the outskirts of the city of Gaza, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Efi Defrin said on Wednesday, describing the first steps of the largest operation.
Footage from the Hamas attack on an IDF encampment in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis this morning shows a tank of the 74th Armored Battalion ramming into a RPG-wielding operative.
– Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@Manniefabian)
Wear and exhaustion in the army
When the Security Council first approved the occupation of the city of Gaza, Israeli officials estimated that the plan could last five months or longer. But on Wednesday, Netanyahu ordered the army to shorten the timetable.
After nearly two years of war and without end to the horizon, in view of the next large operation, the Chief of the Israeli General Staff warned of the additional burden on the troops, many of which have been recruited many times to fight in Gaza. Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, told the Security Council earlier this month that the army is facing deterioration and exhaustion. However, his concerns were rejected as Netanyahu and his government partners proceeded with the new war plans
A new study by Agam Labs at the Jewish University of Jerusalem has shown that about 40% of soldiers are slightly or significantly less willing to serve, while just over 13% say more willing. These findings highlight the harsh reality facing the Israeli army, which may reach limits on human resources availability, especially as polls repeatedly show that an overwhelming majority of the country support the end of war.
Special Documentation from the Battle of Kfir Kfir Battle Fighters in Khan Yunis
– Israel Defense Forces (@idfonline)
Out of battle
Military leaders have asked the government to recruit the overactive Jews to strengthen the stressed troops. However, the overwhelming majority of the lucrative community has refused to serve and, under their own pressure, the government is promoting a broad exemption from compulsory military service. The fact that this political dispute is evolving in the midst of war has fueled the rage of many of those who are already serving.
Following the approval of the new operation by the Security Council, a small reserve organization in Israel renewed calls to soldiers to refuse military orders. “Your children do not know how to refuse themselves, because it is difficult. It’s almost impossible, “Soldiers for Hostages said in a social media post earlier this month.
Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) do not publish numbers or percentages of workers who are not presented when called.
‘Damnian conviction for hostages’
Avsalom Zohar Sal has served more than 300 days in Gaza on four different missions. His last mission ended just a month ago, and he is no longer willing to return to the front line, especially in a business in Gaza.
“I am a little shocked to be talking about this war, which is supposed to have been over for a long time,” he told CNN.
He says the doubts that began to appear a year ago have now been reinforced, and other members of his unit have the same concerns.
“I believe that this decision is a death sentence for hostages. The government was constantly saying that we have two missions in this war: to return hostages and defeat Hamas. Now it is as if they are told that there is only one goal, which I believe is impossible: to destroy Hamas. And even that will not destroy it, “he said.
Will those who do not fight?
The Israeli army has a relatively small force of active service, consisting mainly of conscripts. In order to continue to fight in the longest -running war of its history, Israel must rely on the reserves. But it is not clear what percentage will respond to a new round of recruitment for Gaza service, especially after the army leader’s warning that the operation could endanger both soldiers and hostages.
Defrin, the Army spokesman, tried to answer these concerns on Wednesday, saying at a press conference that IDFs use “information and many other possibilities” to protect hostage lives. But all he could promise was: “We will do everything we can to avoid harm hostages.”
The conscription calls are mandatory for many, but after the repeated mission to Gaza, the army has shown little willingness to punish or prosecute those who refuse or avoid the recruitment.
Former Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Dan Halouz, who led the army in the war with Lebanon in 2006, predicted that not all the backs would be presented. “I think some will stay home,” Air Force’s protest protest earlier this month. “The war was over a year ago,” Halube said, describing the current plan “without logic”. The retired general noticed not to publicly invite the Israelis to refuse to serve, but encouraged the reserves to “act according to their conscience, by their own rules”.
Netanyahu had promised more than a year ago that the worst of the battle would be over. He had told CBS in February last year that after the invasion of Rafa, in southern Gaza, “the strong phase of the battles was weeks from completion, not months, weeks.”
Now, 18 months later, Netanyahu argues that a new business is the fastest way to end Israel’s longest -running war.
But this business is also aiming for a city that hosts more than a million people, many of whom are already displaced by other parts of Gaza.
Tripled the malnutrition of children
More than 22 months after the attacks on October 7, 2023, when Hamas led, over 2 million people in Gaza are struggling with severe hunger, illnesses and displacement under Israeli blockade.
Child malnutrition cases have tripled in “less than six months”, according to the United Nations, while humanitarian workers have urged Israel to lift strict restrictions on entry into the blocked enclave.
Nearly 1 in 3 children are malnourished in the city of Gaza, said Philip Lazarini, head of the UN service for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), referring to “an anthropogenic, preventable hunger”. The Netanyahu government has repeatedly denied that there is a famine in the enclave.
