Israeli Army Loses Two Brigades in War on Gaza and Lebanon, Faces Thousands in Deficit

In a report by political writer Ben Caspit for the Israeli newspaper “Maariv,” it’s mentioned that the Israeli occupation has been waging a regional war on seven fronts for over a year, during which the Israeli army has suffered losses equivalent to about two brigades of soldiers, at a time when it is already experiencing a severe shortage of soldiers, even before accounting for the dead and wounded.

In this context, the government has passed a law that continues to enable a significant segment of the Haredi community, which is experiencing growing numbers, to evade service in the Israeli military.

Furthermore, Caspit points out that the government is extending regular service and significantly increasing the number of annual reserve duty days, as well as raising the age for reserve duty exemption and eliminating existing exemptions.

These measures, according to Caspit, lead to the depletion of the armed forces and an increase in discontent due to the added burden on the few who serve in the reserves, while regular soldiers continue to suffer from ongoing pressure.

The report clarifies that Israel faces intertwined and successive crises on the domestic front, whether political or economic, at a time when it is engaged in a regional war. Caspit considers the main reason for these crises to be “the continued tenure of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.”

The report highlights that amidst this war, Prime Minister Netanyahu decided to replace Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who has extensive experience and has been a member of the security establishment for more than four decades, with Minister Israel Katz, who lacks experience in security positions and has never held a ministerial security position before.

These changes were made swiftly and without giving the new minister any training or transition period, at a critical time with an impending strong Iranian attack, possibly unprecedented, on the state of occupation.

Simultaneously, the economic situation is rapidly deteriorating, with a third credit rating downgrade expected at any moment, while the deficit escalates unprecedentedly, and the Ministry of Finance recommends shutting down five government ministries due to the worsening financial crisis.

Netanyahu is taking risks.

Ben Caspit states that “there is no respectable person in Israel or the world who can answer these questions except by confirming the simple truth: these actions are making Israel’s situation worse, meaning that the Israeli government is acting against Israel’s interest in wartime.”

He added that “everything that has happened boils down to one simple reason,” which is “Netanyahu’s continued control over Israel and its expansion,” noting that “allowing him to continue these actions that permanently and strategically damage Israel, and sometimes irreversibly,” will inevitably and clearly result in “Netanyahu being a prime minister who works against the interests of the government he leads.”

In this context, Caspit refers to a poll conducted by Channel 13 this week, which asked whether Netanyahu “is endangering Israel’s security in light of the security scandals.”

52% of respondents answered affirmatively, while only 7% denied it. Caspit concludes that “one does not need the security issues to realize that Netanyahu’s continuation as prime minister will lead to strategic damage to Israel and its future.”