More and more Israeli reservists are refusing to serve in the army - they are apparently over 100,000. Some consider the "total victory" announced as a goal by Netanyahu to be an illusion, while others are shocked by the suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza.
The Israeli army relies on its reservists. After the attack by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, it became more than clear how important they are. In Israel, women and men can be called up to the army again after completing their military service until the age of 40, and officers - even later, ARD writes. After the October 7 attack, almost 300,000 reservists were called up to the army, many of them for months, and more than once.
Meanwhile, however, the refusal of many reservists to participate in the war is becoming a problem for Israel. The exact figures are secret - but the Israeli media is writing about the most massive refusal to serve in recent decades. There are over 100,000 such cases, notes ARD. The figures cannot be verified, but some of the soldiers have published letters - reservists from the air force, the navy and special intelligence units.
Hostages shot
Very few soldiers dare to come forward with their names - 29-year-old Michael Ofer Ziv from Tel Aviv has signed a letter explaining why he no longer wants to serve. He says that he was filled with the feeling early on that he was fighting the wrong war - this happened back in late 2023, ARD specifies.
Then, in mid-December, Israeli soldiers shot three kidnapped Israeli hostages. “One of the goals of the war was to free the hostages. Even then, we were saying that military pressure puts the hostages at risk. This was the proof: military pressure kills the hostages. We killed three Israeli hostages“, says Ofer Ziv.
These were three young men with a raised white flag, who were pleading for help in Hebrew. “Nevertheless, the decision was made to shoot them“, Ziv admits to ARD, who took this as a worrying signal. “No soldier was held accountable. I thought that there are many similar cases where the victims are residents of the Gaza Strip – and we know nothing about them at all.“ Ziv came to the following conclusion: “We have gone too far. We allow ourselves to do things that cannot be justified. That is why I signed the letter“.
Many fear for the hostages
The war in the Gaza Strip, which Israel resumed on March 18, will not return the 59 hostages still held, but will put them under threat – this opinion is shared by many who refuse to go into the army.
Indeed, Israel managed to free only eight hostages from the Gaza Strip by military means, ARD recalls. A total of 150 people were released during the phases of the ceasefire. But there are also a number of dead that the Israeli army has already buried. Some were shot by terrorists, others died in Israeli attacks.
"Gray refusal" and categorical rejection
Meanwhile, in Israel there is a lot of talk about the so-called "gray refusal" from military service - this is a tacit refusal of soldiers who do not make public explanations and do not necessarily express political motives. Many are exhausted by the war or traumatized, and some probably have economic motives for their refusal - there are also quite a few reservists whose incomes have decreased, as official Israeli data indicate.
There are also people who reject the war in principle, ARD points out. They consider the total victory over Hamas, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared as the goal of the war, to be an illusion, and they are also shocked by the suffering of the Palestinian population in Gaza. This was told to ARD by Nadav Weiman, director of the Israeli NGO “Break the Silence“, which collects information from former soldiers who reject Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories.
“There is a lot of destruction, but also revenge. Soldiers have told us that they were ordered to retaliate - to destroy and kill. It is known that we kill our own hostages, that we block aid deliveries - this is collective punishment of civilians,” explains Weiman to ARD. Israel attacks hospitals, ambulances and aid workers. “We just killed 15 people in the southern Gaza Strip.“
Government nervousness
“When you do things like this, it's not about defeating Hamas, it's about fighting in Gaza.“ This is a war that Netanyahu wants to defend so he doesn't have to go to jail, Weiman said. “Why are we killing? Because of this far-right government. The government wants to send settlers to Gaza and move people out.“ This is a terrible crime, Weiman said.“
The Israeli army has not released any figures on the scale of the refusal. But the nervousness that has gripped the government on this issue in the meantime is evident from Prime Minister Netanyahu's statements. A few days ago, he said that it was a noisy minority, anarchists who receive support from foreign non-governmental organizations.
At the same time, Israel is apparently further expanding its military operations in Gaza. Israeli Defense Minister Katz has meanwhile announced that the Israeli army will remain "permanently" in the occupied parts of the Gaza Strip. The same applies to the occupied lands in Lebanon and Syria. "security zones" would be established there as a buffer. And humanitarian aid to Gaza would remain blocked, ARD reported.