Israel army chief says Gaza war goals ‘unachievable’ amid troop shortage

It is impossible for Israel to achieve its declared war goals in Gaza without making radical changes to address the severe shortage of soldiers, and the failure to recruit Ultra-Orthodox Jews into the army, Chief of Staff of the occupation army, Eyal Zamir, has said.

“Under the current force configuration, which reflects a significant shortage of manpower in the army, it will be extremely difficult to achieve a significant portion of the goals set by the government members for the army,” Zamir reportedly said in recent discussions with the political leadership.

According to a report published by Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, Zamir warned that if the perception does not change significantly, and the army continues to rely solely on its fighters without developing an organised plan for the day after Hamas, Israel will find itself in a state of ongoing chaos in the Gaza Strip without being able to achieve the war’s objectives, most notably the destruction of Hamas, which continues to control the Strip both civilly and militarily, even a year and a half after the outbreak of the war.

“Hamas continues its strategic policy since the beginning of the manoeuver: to maintain its capabilities, even if it is struck,” he said.

In June last year, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that dozens of reserve soldiers announced that they would not return to military service in Gaza, even if they were to be punished.

This came at a time when Israeli media reported that hundreds of reserve soldiers had travelled abroad without informing their commanders due to the ongoing war on Gaza, where occupation forces have suffered heavy losses over.

There is also said to be great anxiety among reserve soldiers due to fear of the repercussions that the continued fighting would have on their personal, family and work lives, it added. While others have found themselves legal action after they travel abroad where rights lawyers have sought to hold those who have committed atrocities in Gaza to account for their crimes.

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