IDF warns of looming manpower shortfall as election window narrows

IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir has repeatedly warned in recent weeks about a severe troop shortage, and the issue has now become more urgent as Israel heads toward elections. The army’s preferred solution is to extend mandatory service to 36 months, but officials say the legal amendment can only be passed in the coming weeks.

If the law is not changed, service will fall to 30 months in about six months, and by January 2027 the IDF is expected to be short about 12,000 combat soldiers and support troops, roughly one missing company in every battalion. Senior military officers say the gap will be extremely difficult, and possibly impossible, to close later.

The shortage is already pushing the army to rely more heavily on reserve soldiers and to extend reserve duty repeatedly. According to IDF estimates, extending regular service would reduce reserve call-ups by about 15 percent, equal to roughly 8,000 reserve service days every day, with consequences for the broader economy.

One senior officer said, “If we do not change the decree, it will be a severe failure. We are not managing to explain and convince the government that this must be changed. We have only a few weeks. The war has not subsided, and this does not match the reality we are living in.” The IDF is also considering recommending that Defense Minister Israel Katz shorten the pre-army year of service programs, so fewer young people enter such frameworks and more can be retained for military duty. The army may also seek to extend the service of yeshiva students, who currently serve one year and four months, to meet operational needs.