Israel: dozens of reserve soldiers refuse to return to Gaza

Dozens of Israeli reserve soldiers refuse to return to fighting in Gaza, risking punishment, amid heavy losses incurred by the army there, Haaretz has reported. According to other Israel media outlets, hundreds of reserve soldiers leave Israel and go abroad every month without informing their commanders, because of the ongoing war against the Palestinians in Gaza.

The Israeli Knesset approved the first reading of a draft bill on Monday aimed at raising the age of exemption from army reserve service temporarily. The bill extends the service for reserve soldiers up to the age of 41 and for reserve officers up to the age of 46. It also extends the service of some professions specified by the defence minister to 50, including combat doctors, paramedics and technicians. The proposed legislation requires approval in three readings to become law. If passed, it would be applied until 30 September.

Israeli Calcalist news site quoted Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi as saying that given the emergency mobilisation and the significant contribution of reserve soldiers to combat efforts, the demobilisation of thousands of reserve soldiers in combat and combat support roles could cause great harm to the army’s operational efficiency and combat ability.

On 11 June, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant asked to extend the law by six months. However, after criticism from the government’s legal adviser, Gali Baharav-Miara, the extension was agreed for three months.

According to the Israeli army’s data, as of Sunday evening, 665 soldiers and officers have been killed in Gaza since 7 October, including 313 killed since the beginning of the ground offensive on 27 October. The data also indicates that 3,894 officers and soldiers have been wounded since the beginning of the war, including 1,977 in ground battles.

Israel has killed 38,000 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded more than 86,000 others — most of them women and children — in addition to the displacement of about 1.7 million people within the enclave since the start of its genocide.

READ: 10 children lose one or two legs in Gaza every day, says UNRWA