Facing growing protests from reservists, IDF said moving to reduce reliance on them

Facing growing protests from reservists calling for an end to the war, the military is quietly reducing its reliance on reserve forces in Gaza, Haaretz reports.

The newspaper cites unnamed military sources, who say the IDF has begun limiting the number of call-up orders issued as well as withdrawing some reservists from active combat zones.

It says senior officers are warning that morale issues and a lack of faith in the mission among reservists could jeopardize key military operations.

Haaretz says the army’s decision to remove Air Force reservists who signed a protest letter demanding an end to the war was meant to deter further such cases but seems to have had the opposite effect, with a growing number of reservists throughout the military joining similar protests.

The report says there is mounting pressure within the military to brief the security cabinet on the full scope of the crisis. Sources say the decision to discipline the airmen came under political pressure and that the situation is more serious than what has been publicly acknowledged.