Crisis in Israeli military: Shortage of 300 officers and exhausted reservists

The Israeli newspaper Maariv reported on Monday that the Israeli army is currently struggling with a shortage of nearly 300 officers in command positions within its ground forces.

The paper added that the shortage is particularly severe in the engineering corps, which is suffering from a serious lack of company commanders and officers in engineering and demolition units.

According to Maariv, the Israeli army has acknowledged that it is finding it increasingly difficult to persuade capable soldiers to join officer training courses.

The report also stated that over the past few months, the army has been forced to appoint officers from regular units and reservists who have not completed formal company commander training.

At the same time, Israeli Army Radio reported that Eyal Zamir, the Chief of Staff of the Israeli army, has decided to reduce the number of reservists by 30% due to the heavy burden placed on them.

According to this report, reservists will gradually be withdrawn from various battlefronts, including Gaza, Lebanon, the West Bank, and other regions, unless sudden security developments occur, such as a new confrontation with Iran or a major operation in Gaza.

Citing informed sources, Israeli Army Radio said the purpose of this decision is to ease the growing pressure on reservists, who have become extremely fatigued due to extended periods of service.