Zamir tells lawmakers IDF faces ‘severe harm’ if they don’t act to solve military personnel crunch

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir again warns lawmakers that the military faces “severe harm” if the government does not pass legislation that provides solutions to the army’s personnel shortages.

Zamir was responding to members of Knesset who sent him a letter regarding the removal of a reservist battalion from the West Bank, after troops detained and allegedly assaulted a CNN crew while trumpeting far-right ideology.

The IDF chief, in his response letter dated March 30, says, “I would like to take advantage of the opportunity that you sent me an important letter, and the concern that you raised regarding IDF soldiers and the reserve system in particular, and to call on you to fulfill your responsibility.”

“In January, the decision to shorten mandatory service to 30 months will come into effect, and this is despite my clear demand in the past year to move in the opposite direction, of extending the service,” he says. “The meaning of this is severe harm and a decrease in the IDF force size, which will be expressed in a shortage of thousands of fighters and combat-support personnel.”

A “heavy price” will be paid by reservists and their families, says Zamir: “They are the ones who will be called to service time after time.”

“I ‘raised red flags’ both in the last cabinet meeting and in meetings with the subcommittee of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, and on additional opportunities,” he says, confirming reported warnings he recently made to lawmakers.

The government has been working to pass a bill that would enshrine blanket exemptions from military conscription for Haredi yeshiva students, despite the IDF warning repeatedly that it needs more troops after two years of war.

The IDF has said it urgently needs 12,000 recruits — mostly combat troops — due to the strain on standing and reserve forces caused by the war, which began on October 7, 2023.

“In summary, in light of the expansion of missions in the coming years and the motivation of the IDF to realize them all with excellence, the IDF is required to grow,” Zamir says. “As we have expressed more than once, we need a large and strong army.”