IDF Implements New Policy Reducing Defense Forces in Gaza Border Communities

Security officers in Israeli communities bordering the Gaza Strip warn of a new IDF policy that significantly reduces local defense forces. According to these officers, any reservist soldier assigned to local defense units who takes leave, undergoes training, or falls ill is currently barred from returning to active duty due to a system block on re-enlistment. This has led to a gradual depletion of operational defense units without the ability to replenish personnel.

Local leaders report that within days, the remaining defense forces will be insufficient to meet security and guard duties in these border communities. In one settlement attacked by militants on October 7, only 12 members of the local defense unit will remain active by Sunday. Despite having six additional reservists ready to be called up, authorization to reinstate them has been withheld for over ten days. The community’s command center has been closed, and security gates left unmanned during a period of heavy fog, raising fears of potential infiltrations.

Officials in the IDF attribute this reduction to a broader downsizing of reserve forces and state that, until further notice, reservists cannot be mobilized even for local defense roles. No official response has yet been provided by the IDF. Local leaders describe the situation as a serious abandonment, emphasizing the contradiction between the inability to guarantee no hostile incursions and the simultaneous withdrawal of defense personnel.