The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that there has been a 1% average decline in male soldier enlistments over the past years.
The daily noted that 33% of the soldiers have not completed their recruitment, while15% deserted and did not enlist with reserve formations entirely.
The total of those exempted from military service due to mental or medical reasons spiked from 4% to 8%.
There are 18,000 combat reserve soldiers and 20,000 combat support personnel who are registered as part of the reserve force. They do not join when called up.
The report added the commanders of the reserve brigades and battalions believe the matter “relates to serial evaders and cannot be brought in by force.”
Israel is dealing with the manpower issue at a time its military faces the debacle in the Gaza Strip. The military has also failed to achieve its goals in a meaningful way in southern Lebanon.
Dozens of soldiers have been killed in recent days on both battlefronts.
In October, the Israeli outlet HaMakom reported that an increasing number of soldiers are silently refusing orders to return to the battlefield due in large part to the resistance put up by the Palestinian fighters.
The soldiers say they are depressed, unmotivated, worn out and psychologically damaged.
The Israeli military has published the names of nearly 800 troops killed since October 2023, including more than 350 who were killed on the ground in Gaza.
The Resistance fronts say the number of military fatalities the regime has suffered is much higher as it keeps the real figures under the lid.
