IDF to Immediately Draft Soldiers to Reserve Duty Post-Mandatory Service, Report Says

The Israeli military is reportedly set to implement a new policy requiring soldiers to enter reserve duty immediately after finishing their mandatory service, a move aimed at alleviating a significant manpower shortage. This measure, known as Tzav 8, would effectively add about two months to a soldier's service period.

The decision comes as Israel's mandatory military service is scheduled to be reduced to 30 months in January 2027. The IDF views the reserve draft order as a temporary fix if the Knesset does not extend mandatory service before a potential government dissolution. However, the plan faces internal criticism, with a senior IDF official calling it "illogical and unreasonable" to extend reserve duty for soldiers already in their third year of service.

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It is illogical and unreasonable in a democratic country to bring in reserve soldiers for another hundred days of reserve duty this year, already in the third year.

Beyond the immediate impact on soldiers, the reserve draft order is projected to place a substantial burden on Israel's economy, potentially tripling the cost per soldier. Military officials have voiced serious concerns about the escalating combat gap. Brig.-Gen. Shai Taib warned the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that the regular combat force could face severe strain without urgent manpower legislation. He emphasized that extending service would help build force capacity, combat burnout, and increase flexibility, with plans including new reserve and infantry battalions and the return of former soldiers to active duty.

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Unfortunately, the combat gap is only intensifying, and this is what the coming years will look like.