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ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 617

IDF reserve soldiers

An Israeli soldier, his wife and their child sitting on a tank, during a family visit upon his return from a mission in the Gaza Strip on January 28, 2024. (Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
June 6, 2025, 11:12 am
As war drags on, reservists fight to balance military duty and the home front
‘Your life is undergoing such a monumental change, so abruptly’: Extended deployments and repeated call-ups spark unofficial solutions, highlight the cost of Israel’s prolonged war
By Stav Levaton
Israeli children visit their reservist father in Southern Israel, December 17, 2023. (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images via JTA)
May 30, 2025, 5:27 am
As IDF raises reservist call-up cap to 450,000, weary troops decry low Haredi enlistment
Prolonged deployments since Oct. 7 have harmed the economy and the mental health, family relationships and careers of reservists, while exemptions keep ultra-Orthodox off the front lines
By Deborah Danan
Cpt. (res.) Ron Finer arriving at the Beit Lid military prison to serve a 20-day sentence, May 25, 2025. (Screen capture: Twitter used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
May 25, 2025, 4:24 pm
IDF reservist sentenced to 20 days in jail for refusing to serve in Gaza
Captain Ron Finer, who has served over 270 days since October 7, is a member of Soldiers for Hostages group; objects to ‘never-ending’ war in Gaza, ‘abandonment’ of hostages
By ToI Staff
Defense Minister Israel Katz seen in the Knesset in Jerusalem, on March 26, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
May 23, 2025, 7:23 pm
Katz bans former deputy IDF chief Yair Golan from reserves for ‘blood libel’
After defense minister bars him from bases or from wearing uniform, Golan notes he last donned it on Oct.7 when rushing to save people from ‘government’s horrific security failure’
By Stav Levaton and ToI Staff
IDF troops operate in northern Gaza, in a handout photo issued on May 17, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
May 19, 2025, 8:42 pm
Reservists being called up despite recognized mental wounds, including PTSD — report
Haaretz identifies 2 reservists with trauma diagnoses who died by suicide after being called up; report blasts ‘Kafkaesque’ lack of coordination between Defense Ministry and IDF
By ToI Staff
Friday Focus with Lazar Berman, May 9, 2025.
May 9, 2025, 11:30 am
Friday Focus with Lazar Berman – ‘Forever war’ in Gaza: Past, present & potential future
As Israel appears to be standing at a crossroads in the conflict, ToI’s diplomatic reporter delves into its rollout, pauses, surprises and successes
By Amanda Borschel-Dan and Lazar Berman
Prof. Yair Bar-Haim, head of the National Center for Traumatic Stress and Resilience at Tel Aviv University, January 2024 (Courtesy of TAU)
May 7, 2025, 8:20 pm
Study: 12% of reserve soldiers report PTSD symptoms after Gaza combat service
‘Israel is facing a mental health emergency,’ warns Yair Bar-Haim, head of Tel Aviv University’s National Center for Trauma and Resilience, calling for long-term solutions
By Diana Bletter
Troops of the 205th Reserve Armored Brigade operate in southern Gaza's Rafah, in a handout photo issued by the IDF on April 27, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
May 6, 2025, 6:04 am
Against core principles, Israel is leaning on reservists to fight its forever war
From the country’s early days, leaders recognized that conflicts had to be short. The government is expanding the fight in Gaza and the north, while letting Haredim avoid the draft
By Lazar Berman
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and his wife Ayala attend a conference called "Israel's return to the Temple Mount," at the Knesset, July 24, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
April 26, 2025, 10:18 pm
Ayala Ben Gvir says she feels like ‘reservist’s wife’ as far-right minister tours US
Opposition MK tells wife of the Otzma Yehudit leader, who was barred from IDF service over his extremism, that she is ‘not a reservist’s wife, you’re the wife of a convicted felon’
By ToI Staff
By chance, reserve combat paramedic David Citron (middle) runs into decade-long friend Alan Buch, a New York-based venture capitalist, at the Zikim crossing bordering the Gaza Strip, in December 2023. (Courtesy)
April 21, 2025, 4:47 pm
$35 million VC fund launches thanks to reservist’s chance encounter on the Gaza border
Israeli investor David Citron bumped into NY-based venture capitalist Alan Buch while serving in the Israel-Hamas war. Their resulting fund for startups born in combat launches Monday
By Sharon Wrobel
Members of the Gvura (Heroism) Forum, bereaved families and activists hold a press conference against a hostage deal with Hamas in Jerusalem, January 12, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
April 18, 2025, 4:41 pm
Some 1,000 relatives of fallen soldiers said to sign letter in support of Gaza fighting
Petition drafted by right-wing organization comes after recent wave of letters by various groups urging deal for the return of all hostages even at cost of ending war
By ToI Staff
A passerby looks at photos of the hostages in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square, January 23, 2025. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)
April 15, 2025, 4:29 pm
Ex-hostages, prominent authors join mounting calls for deal – even if it ends war
Military elites, healthcare professionals, Nobel laureates, captives’ families unite in urgent appeal to government to prioritize the lives of those who remain in Hamas captivity
By Stav Levaton, Jessica Steinberg and ToI Staff
Illustrative: A ceremony for the incoming head of Military Intelligence's Unit 8200 in the Gelilot base, north of Tel Aviv, on April 6, 2017. (IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
April 11, 2025, 4:25 pm
250 IDF intel reservists sign letter calling to end war; PM: ‘noisy anarchists’
Latest letter comes amid growing wave of criticism from reservists arguing that hostages must come first; Netanyahu says letters are ‘encouraging’ Israel’s enemies
By Stav Levaton, Emanuel Fabian and ToI Staff
Rose Modlin, left, with HaOgen volunteer Tal Breuer. (Hadas Kuznits)
April 3, 2025, 11:16 am
As massive IDF call-ups leave families adrift, volunteers step in to act as lifesavers
Founded by former deputy Jerusalem mayor Rachel Azaria, HaOgen helps families of reservists with cooking, child care and more, but recipients especially value the emotional support
By Hadas Kuznits
Israeli reservists are seen after a military drill in the Golan Heights, northern Israel, January 24, 2024. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)
March 21, 2025, 8:47 pm
As fighting in Gaza resumes, Israel needs to combat reservist burnout, war weariness
After 300,000 reserve soldiers rushed to serve in wake of October 7 Hamas massacre, struggle to balance service with civilian life has seen major drops in attendance in some units
By Reuters and ToI Staff
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