Due to Shortage of Soldiers, Israel Prompts Naval Personnel as Infantry

Gaza, MINA – The severe shortage of combatants in the Israel occupation forces has prompted the Reserve Infantry Division (96th Division) to form a new battalion of naval personnel to prepare them for ground operations, according to reports from the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation Kan 11.

The initiative means that naval personnel who were previously exempted from reserve service have to undergo intensive infantry training to get them to a level that equips them for ground operations, as the war against the Palestinians in Gaza continues and threats abound about expanding the war in Lebanon.

“Although many of the Navy’s fighters have undergone special combat training,” said the report, “they will receive new training that includes urban combat and the use of infantry weapons.” Middle East Monitor reports.

The Deputy Chief of Staff, Amir Baram, approved this “exceptional” measure, which will be implemented under the supervision of the Ground Forces Command. The report stated that the Israeli occupation army has recently begun compiling a list of those who will join the new battalion. “Their training is scheduled to begin in about two months.”

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The Israeli army has been suffering from a shortage of soldiers for months, due to its ongoing war in Gaza Strip, its intensive operations in the occupied West Bank, and its confrontations with Hezbollah across the border with Lebanon. In July, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant revealed that the army urgently needs 10,000 additional soldiers, amid reports of a “significant increase” in the number of officers requesting early retirement from military service. Gallant told the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee that 4,800 soldiers can be recruited from members of the ultra-Orthodox Haredim community, who are normally exempt from military service.

As a result of the shortage, the Israeli government approved a law in June to extend the period of reserve service by raising the exemption age. According to the proposal, non-officer reservists will serve until the age of 41 instead of 40, while officers will serve until 46 instead of 45. (T/RE1/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)

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