“Israel” Faces Deepening Manpower Crisis in Its Army as Training Troops Pulled from Gaza

By Al-Ahed News

Amid growing internal pressure from within the army and from the families of soldiers over the deployment of inexperienced troops to the front lines in Gaza, “Israel’s” deepening manpower crisis has taken a critical and dangerous new turn. According to a report in the “Israeli” daily Maariv, the “Israeli” army has decided to withdraw hundreds of young soldiers—still in the training phase—from combat zones in the Gaza Strip. This move comes in response to appeals from the families of conscripts serving in the Paratroopers, “Golani” and “Givati” Brigades.

Due to a severe shortage in personnel and the increasing burden on active-duty forces, the army's Operations Directorate had earlier made the controversial decision to deploy infantry recruits who had completed only three months of basic training—and had only just begun their advanced training—as part of the ongoing Operation “Iron Swords” in Gaza. Under standard procedures, these soldiers are only considered fully operational after completing a training cycle that typically lasts about four months.

Nonetheless, the Operations Directorate justified the deployment of these partially trained soldiers by framing it as “practical field training” amid the shortage of manpower. Officers defending the decision argued that the best preparation occurs in real combat conditions. One senior officer said, “I believe that the best preparation for actual combat comes from someone in advanced training. The battlefield cannot be replicated in a training facility.”

However, the move sparked outrage among families of the young conscripts, who expressed deep concern over their sons' readiness and safety. Some parents stated, “It’s inconceivable to send a soldier into combat without having completed combat training, as though he were fully qualified.”

According to the report, the organization leading the protest urgently wrote to the so-called “Foreign Affairs and Security Committee” in the Knesset to object to the decision. “Deploying soldiers who have not finished the full combat training track—some of whom just finished their basic course—into active war zones poses a direct danger to their lives and those of their comrades,” said Rotem Sivan Hoffman and Michal Hadas Rubin, two of the movement’s leaders. “The implicit agreement between the state and its people to protect its soldiers is being broken.”

In response to the public backlash and growing internal dissent, the “Israeli” military announced yesterday, Wednesday, that it would reverse the decision. Inexperienced trainees will be pulled out from infantry brigades in Gaza and replaced by experienced, regular combat troops. Furthermore, the army committed not to deploy soldiers still in training to combat zones until they have completed their full preparation cycle.