IDF chief sounds alarm: Military lacks soldiers & ‘buckling’ under burden on various fronts, needs new draft law

The IDF chief made a highly unusual call to the political leadership on Wednesday, warning that the military is buckling under the weight of its operations and is lacking thousands of soldiers.

“I am raising 10 red flags in front of you before the IDF collapses into itself,” Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir told ministers in the political-security cabinet on Wednesday, according to a Channel 13 report.

“Right now, the IDF needs a conscription law, a reserve duty law, and a law to extend mandatory service,” he was quoted as saying. “Before long, the IDF will not be ready for its routine missions and the reserve system will not last.”

Zamir's remarks were followed by AN outraged response from opposition leaders who blasted the government, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu swiftly vowed to continue advancing a new IDF draft law despite concerns raised by the Knesset’s legal advisors.

Earlier this month, Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced they would freeze the controversial new conscription law, which the opposition argued fails to meet the military’s needs and still leaves ultra-Orthodox men with loopholes to evade service.

In addition to the intense operations against Iran, the expanding ground operation in Lebanon and the ongoing operations in Gaza, Central Command Chief Maj.-Gen. Avi Bluth told cabinet ministers that the establishment of additional settlements in the Jordan Valley and Judea and Samaria, approved by the government last year, also requires more soldiers, while the wave of violence by Jewish extremists has already forced the IDF to divert troops from Lebanon.

Additionally, due to the lack of new legislation, mandatory service for men is set to be reduced to two and a half years by January 2027, despite repeated requests from the IDF to accelerate the process and restore service length to three years.

This is expected to reduce the number of available soldiers, even as the army needs about 15,000 additional troops, including 7,000-8,000 combat soldiers, according to IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Effie Defrin, who spoke on Thursday.

In response to the warning, as well as the wave of outrage by opposition leaders, Netanyahu announced he would advance a new draft law and extend the mandatory service, despite opposition from the Knesset’s legal advisor.

He argued that extending the service would, again, increase the burden on the general population before passing an effective draft law for the ultra-Orthodox community.

“The role of the legal adviser is to advise. We are deciding to move this forward,” Netanyahu said.

While Committee Chairman Boaz Bismuth, who is responsible for the draft bill, attacked Zamir’s “irresponsible statements,” saying they “directly harm the war effort,” opposition leaders argued that the government’s hesitancy had caused the crisis.

“In the next disaster, the government will not be able to say ‘we didn’t know.’ It bears responsibility. It is on its head,” opposition leader Yair Lapid charged.

“In the next government, we will cut 60 billion shekels in funds for draft evaders. We will draft everyone. The discrimination between blood and blood will end,” Lapid vowed.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who ranks second in the most recent leadership polls, said that Zamir “is now crying out what I have been saying for two and a half years. The IDF is short 20,000 soldiers to defend the State of Israel. What are you waiting for? A government dependent on [Haredi leaders] Deri and Goldknopf cannot provide security for the State of Israel and cannot win.”

Former IDF chief of staff and leader of the new “Yashar” party, Gadi Eisenkot, said: “Government of Israel, IDF supreme command – you will not be able to say again that you did not know. The chief of staff is raising ‘10 red flags,’ the reservists and their families are crying out – and the government ignores it and continues on its path: promoting draft evasion.”

In response, a “senior official” from the cabinet told Israeli media outlets: “What the chief of staff actually said is completely the opposite of the campaign taking place in the media and among the opposition.”

Zamir “warned cabinet members that the delay in completing the legislation of the conscription law, extending mandatory service to 36 months, and amending the reserve duty law will prevent the IDF from carrying out all its missions, and that these must be passed as soon as possible,” the official said, blaming the “entire delay” on the legal advisors.