Israel’s ‘Lone Soldiers’: A global network of recruited mercenaries

Since its establishment in 1948, the Israeli regime has extensively relied on foreign mercenaries to reinforce its military.

The regime generally describes these individuals as volunteers rather than mercenaries; however, critics—especially regarding the recent Gaza conflict—refer to them as mercenaries.

A new report from the Davar Rishon outlet highlights a significant rise in the number of foreign mercenaries serving as “lone soldiers” in the occupying army, particularly since the beginning of the war on Gaza.

According to statistics released by the Human Resources Directorate of the Israeli army, 3,614 foreign mercenaries are currently registered in the occupying forces, making up 52% of all so-called “lone soldiers” in the Israeli military.

In the colonial military structure of the Israeli regime, a “lone soldier” refers to a member of the occupying army who has no immediate family residing in the occupied territories.

The report states that 30% of these mercenaries are from the United States, 12% from France, and 7% from Ukraine—reflecting a wide international recruitment network that encourages foreign nationals to join the ranks of the occupiers.

The figures also show that 6,850 reserve lone soldiers have been mobilized during the war on Gaza. The ongoing military operations have resulted in very high casualties among newly arrived foreign mercenaries, with around 100 killed and many more wounded.