Retired General: Israel Will Collapse Within a Year If the War Continues

In an article published in Haaretz, retired Israeli General Yitzhak Brick warned that “if the war of attrition against Hamas and Hezbollah continues, Israel will collapse within a year.”

He added, “It seems that [Defense Minister] Gallant is beginning to realize the truth: if a regional war breaks out due to the failure to reach an agreement on Gaza, Israel will be in grave danger.”

Brick continued, “I assume that Gallant now understands that the war has lost its purpose, and we are sinking into the quagmire of Gaza,” pointing out that Israel is losing soldiers in Gaza without any real chance of achieving the war’s primary goal—overthrowing Hamas.

He noted that “all political and military paths are leading Israel to the brink,” and emphasized that “replacing Netanyahu and his partners may save Israel from an existential spiral that could soon reach the point of no return.”

Last Monday, the Israeli army began recalling reservists who had been exempted from service in recent years due to a “shortage of forces,” amid difficulties in recruiting religious Haredim.

The army stated, “Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has instructed the re-enlistment of reservists who were previously exempted from service due to force reductions, but who are still of service age.”

The decision was made “in light of the current assessment of the situation, the scale of activity by regular and reserve forces, and as part of the army’s plan to increase the number of recruits,” the army explained.

“In this context, after completing the necessary preparations, the army has begun contacting eligible candidates who served in core units during their mandatory service,” the statement continued.

The statement concluded, “Those deemed suitable for return from exemption will be assigned to different units as operational needs dictate.”

In a related report, Yedioth Ahronoth noted that the army’s decision was made in response to “a shortage in its forces.”

The newspaper mentioned that “the decision will apply to those aged 35 or younger, who will be recalled to reserve service after having previously been exempted.”

The report explained that this applies to “15,000 Israelis who served in the regular forces and were exempted from reserve duty since their discharge from mandatory service 14 years ago.”

These individuals “will be called to perform reserve duty three times in the coming year.”

In July, the Chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuli Edelstein, announced that he would promote a bill allowing the enlistment of previously exempted reservists due to the army’s need for additional soldiers.

In June, the Israeli government approved a temporary bill to raise the age of exemption from reserve duty in the Israeli army.