Israeli military admits manpower shortage, need for 10,000+ soldiers
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The Israeli occupation army is facing a critical shortage of over 10,000 soldiers amid the continued Gaza Strip agrression.
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Israeli soldiers work on tanks and APCs at a staging area near the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern occupied Palestine, Thursday, May 15, 2025 (AP)
The Israeli occupation army has admitted to a severe manpower shortage, exceeding 10,000 soldiers, including around 6,000 in combat units, as it continues its intense aggression on the Gaza Strip, all while political crises escalate within the ruling coalition.
Responding to a question about drafting Haredim, Israeli occupation army spokesperson Efi Defrin said, "This is a genuine operational need, so we’re implementing all required measures," according to The Times of Israel.
This admission comes as thousands of reserve soldiers who took part in the aggression against the Gaza Strip are suffering from psychological distress, with over 9,000 of them currently undergoing treatment, according to Israeli media reports last month.
The reports indicated that the Israeli occupation army was forced to call up reserve soldiers despite their psychological struggles due to the severe shortage of personnel.
Last month, the Israeli occupation government approved a decision allowing the mobilization of up to 450,000 reserve soldiers in an attempt to address the worsening manpower shortage.
Haredim conscription sows chaos in govt. coalition
Politically, the crisis over drafting Haredi Jews continues to fuel tensions within the governing coalition, as Haredi parties persist in threatening to dissolve the Knesset and topple the government, despite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's claims of progress in ongoing negotiations with these factions.
Israeli state broadcaster KAN reported that Netanyahu met on Thursday with Haredi party representatives after Agudat Yisrael's Council of Torah Sages agreed to back an opposition-sponsored bill to dissolve parliament next week, putting Netanyahu's coalition at risk of collapse.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly contemplating the removal of Yuli Edelstein as head of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee following his unwavering opposition to the controversial bill seeking to maintain military service exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jews.
Israeli Channel 11 reported that Haredi political factions and prominent rabbinical leaders are intensifying their demands, warning that the government could face collapse if the military service exemption law fails to pass, a development that would severely destabilize Netanyahu's already fragile coalition.
The United Torah Judaism bloc, a crucial ultra-Orthodox coalition partner, deliberately skipped a recent Knesset session discussing the military conscription bill, with party officials explaining their absence by claiming Edelstein's "unwillingness to find middle ground rendered participation meaningless."
