ByAMIR BOHBOT

JULY 2, 2026 16:46

IDF Brig. Gen. Shai Taib, head of the military Planning and Personnel Administration Division, cautioned the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Thursday that Israel regular combat forces risk serious strain absent urgent manpower legislation.

Taib stated the IDF requires three steps: an effective draft law, extension of mandatory service, and a reserve service law. He noted fighting intensity continues to rise and the coming years will sustain pressure on the military.

Unfortunately the combat shortfall is only growing and this pattern will define the years ahead, Taib told the committee.

He explained that extending mandatory service would allow the IDF to expand force capacity, ease burnout, and increase flexibility inside the service structure. Taib added that the army has already formed dozens of reserve battalions, intends to stand up two more infantry battalions, and has recalled tens of thousands of former personnel.

The remarks follow Knesset passage of the contentious Basic Law: Torah Study bill on Wednesday evening. Critics maintain the measure promotes draft evasion and lets yeshiva students who avoid service keep receiving state benefits despite the IDF acute manpower shortage.

At the Thursday hearing, defense and political officials faulted the IDF for framing the service extension as a technical step instead of part of a wider overhaul of Israel military model.

IDF officials warn some combat units facing critically severe shortages

Officials urged the IDF General Staff to craft a multi-year service model aligned with the post-October 7 security environment. They said combat and key combat-support positions should follow longer, fixed service tracks to lessen reliance on shifting political and legislative schedules.

Officials further recommended the IDF set a clear operational red line for reserve readiness based on measurable indicators rather than broad alerts about burnout. Continued dependence on reservists to fill regular-force shortfalls, they warned, could damage Israel economy and social cohesion.

Defense officials believe the IDF must supply the political leadership with complete data on reserve-unit erosion, covering attrition, business harm, family strain, and mental-health caseloads.

One military source close to the matter said technological and organizational fixes should be advanced wherever they can substitute for personnel.

IDF aims to reduce reservists burdens

The concerns arise alongside wider IDF efforts to lighten reserve-duty loads. The discussion also follows IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir warnings on the operational dangers of failing to extend mandatory service.

Military officials criticized the political system for linking the service extension to the broader draft law, labeling it a strategic error that endangers national security.

They stressed that extending mandatory service meets an immediate operational need created by earlier service cuts and the altered security landscape. In contrast, drafting haredi men represents a longer social process and should not be presented as an instant fix for the IDF manpower shortfall.

Failure to extend mandatory service would cut the IDF combat force by roughly 10 percent to 15 percent at once, equal to about five combat battalions.

Government Secretary Yossi Fuchs said the government has received several warning letters from the chief of staff regarding extension of mandatory service to 36 months and supports the move in the long term together with haredi enlistment.