IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen Eyal Zamir wrote a pointed letter last week to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and head of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Boaz Bismuth, warning that the shortage of soldiers could harm military readiness in the very near future, Channel 12 reports.
“The security reality in the last two years has led to unprecedented challenges and to significant effects on the various manpower arrays in the IDF,” Zamir reportedly wrote.
Zamir added that legislation on drafting more soldiers into the IDF “is not progressing in the way that is necessary, and could lead the IDF to be in a state of unreadiness. The effects will be felt in the coming year, and even more so from January 2027.”
He says that mandatory services for men must be extended back to 36 months “urgently, immediately, and retroactively,” or else IDF force design, readiness, and training will be “severely impacted.”
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Monday, January 19, 2026
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
