Israel short on soldiers after year of war and as it opens a new front in Lebanon

More than a year into the Gaza war, the Israeli army's reservists are exhausted and it is struggling to recruit soldiers just as it opens a new front in Lebanon.

Some 300,000 reservists have been called up since the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, according to the army, 18 per cent of them men over 40 who should have been exempted.

Military service is mandatory from the age of 18 for Israeli men and women, though several exemptions apply.

Israel is waging a multi-front war against Hamas in Gaza and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Since the military launched its ground offensive in Gaza on October 27 last year, it has lost 367 soldiers in the campaign, while 37 have died in Lebanon since Israel began ground operations there on September 30.

Periods of reserve duty have been extended, and some reservists complain they are unable to go on with their normal lives for up to six straight months.

"We're drowning," said reservist Ariel Seri-Levy in a social media post shared thousands of times.

He said he had been called up four times since the October 7 attack, and called out those who want Israel to "stay in Lebanon and Gaza".

"We have to end this war because we are out of soldiers," he said, adding that while he still believed in serving one's country, "the concessions have become too great".

Another reservist and father of two said "to fatigue and moral exhaustion is added the fact that I lost my job".

Many freelance workers have had to close shop because of the war, even if the government guarantees a minimum income for reservists.

"The collective is still above the individual but the cost is too great for my family," the reservist said, adding that he spent nearly six months in Gaza this year.

The ongoing war has inflamed the public debate on drafting ultra-Orthodox Jews, many of whom are exempted from military service.

The ultra-Orthodox account for 14 per cent of Israel's Jewish population, according to the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI), representing about 1.3 million people. About 66,000 of those of conscription age are exempted, according to the army.

Under a rule adopted at Israel's creation in 1948, when it applied to only 400 people, the ultra-Orthodox have historically been exempted from military service if they dedicate themselves to the study of sacred Jewish texts.

Six men who had volunteered despite being eligible for exemptions were killed in combat between October 22 and 28, including a father of 10.