IDF says cutting back superfluous reservists, will reduce duty time

The Israel Defense Forces said Monday it was working to reduce superfluous reserve forces after the government ordered it to cap the number of reservists serving this year. At the same time, it vowed not to harm the benefits provided to those who report for duty.

At the peak of the war, the IDF activated around 300,000 reservists, and it had previously been expected to call up some 60,000 during 2026 for routine activities. In December, Defense Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich agreed, as part of the state budget, to cut the number of reservists serving on any given day in 2026 to 40,000 — a move they say will save billions of shekels.

The IDF said it was scaling back roles it deems unnecessary, such as full-time reservists reinforcing civil defense squads in border communities and in the West Bank, as well as certain headquarters positions.

The military also said it would reduce the number of days reservists are required to serve under routine call-up orders — as opposed to emergency ones — from 72 to 55.

Of the 55 days in reserve duty, 42 would be dedicated to operational activity, with the remainder being for training and organization. The move has angered some, as previously, reservists were given more time for organizational purposes.

During the first year of the war, combat soldiers served an average of 136 days, and commanders served 168 days. Before the war, reservists would carry out up to 25 days of operational activity every three years.

The IDF said it would also end several practices relating to reserve duty that had become commonplace since the start of the war on October 7, 2023.

To curb the use of superfluous reservists, the IDF said it will prohibit units from recruiting reserve soldiers through social media advertisements, a practice that became widespread during the war.

Many reservists would complete their service in one unit and then move to another to continue serving. Under new army guidelines, recruiting reservists is only permitted through an official military website, a move intended to prevent reservists from being transferred between units without oversight.

At the same time, the IDF said it would not harm the benefits given to reservists who serve for extended periods. Various benefits would now be granted after 45 days of reserve duty, in what the military said was an effort to discourage reservists from continuing to serve unnecessarily beyond that point, rather than returning to their civilian jobs.

Frequent and prolonged waves of reserve call-ups during the war drew criticism from the Finance Ministry, which cited inefficiency and extensive waste of funds within the IDF.

Another practice being halted is the so-called “hybrid service,” in which reservists perform their military duty while continuing to work at their civilian jobs, sometimes on a week-on, week-off basis.

Beyond the economic impact, the military said that this arrangement harmed the cohesion of combat units, as some soldiers never ended up serving alongside those who are meant to be their comrades.

The direct cost of the war has been estimated at around NIS 220 billion ($67 billion), of which approximately NIS 50–70 billion was allocated to funding the mobilization of hundreds of thousands of reservists for extended periods.