JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL 

The Israeli military has deployed insufficiently trained soldiers from its elite Golani and Givati brigades to the Gaza Strip amid a critical shortage of troops, Israel’s public broadcaster KAN reported Sunday.

The recruits have been sent to the battlefield since last December, it said.

The move reflects the growing strain on the Israeli military, which has acknowledged a significant manpower shortage.

Last week, the Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported that Army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir had informed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Cabinet that the army’s ability to achieve the political leadership’s objectives in Gaza could be hindered by the dwindling number of soldiers.

The army has struggled with a lack of regular soldiers over the past few months, exacerbated by the exemption of ultra-Orthodox Jews (Haredim) from conscription and a 30% to 40% dropout rate among reservists, citing exhaustion from the prolonged war, according to local media outlets.

The shortage may worsen amid a growing number of petitions signed by Israelis, including active and former soldiers, demanding the release of hostages, even if it requires halting the Gaza war.

More than 140,000 Israelis have signed petitions calling for a ceasefire in exchange for hostages. Among them, 21 petitions have each been signed by more than 10,000 active and former reservists.

Israel estimates that 59 of its citizens remain captive in Gaza, including 24 believed to be alive, while it holds over 9,900 Palestinians in its prisons, where reports of torture, starvation and medical neglect have led to numerous deaths, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights groups.

Netanyahu and his ministers have threatened to dismiss the signatories, labeling the campaigns “rebellion” and “disobedience” that “strengthen enemies during wartime.”

More than 51,200 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children.

In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.