Israel extends mandatory military service amid Gaza conflict

Israel’s government on Sunday approved a plan to temporarily extend compulsory military service for men to 36 months, up from 32 as the Gaza war against Hamas strains manpower.

The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the government had endorsed the measure, which will now go to parliament for approval.

Should it pass, the 36-month service will be effective immediately, for a period of five years, according to a copy of the bill posted online.

Because of the military’s “current needs following the events of October 7”, the temporary provision proposes “the maximum duration of men’s service will be 36 months,” the bill says.

The law would also apply to soldiers currently deployed, lengthening their rotations.

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In a statement posted after the government decision, however, Israel’s Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara criticised the unequal enforcement of mandatory service, due to historic exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jewish men.

“Increasing the burden on those serving for years, without simultaneously taking concrete actions to recruit yeshiva students and distribute the burden, will not be constitutional,” she wrote.

Most Jewish men and women in Israel must serve in the military, but since 1948 the insular ultra-Orthodox community has been granted draft exemptions so some students can continue yeshiva study.

But in late June, Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that the state must draft ultra-Orthodox Jewish men into military service, potentially destabilising Netanyahu’s coalition that includes religious and ultra-nationalist parties.

Ultra-Orthodox factions hold 18 of the coalition’s 64 seats.

The issue of ultra-Orthodox enlistment led to the collapse of a previous Netanyahu-led coalition government in 2018, sparking years of political deadlock.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews make up about 13 percent of Israel’s nearly 10 million population.

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Hundreds of thousands of Israeli reservists have been deployed since October 7 to Gaza, the occupied West Bank and along the northern border with Lebanon.

Military commanders have called for more manpower if they are to sustain the fighting, with Defence Minister Yoav Gallant calling it a matter of “mathematics” not politics.

At least 325 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the Gaza campaign since the start of ground operations on October 27, according to the army.

The Hamas attack on southern Israel which began the war resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

Israel’s military aggression has killed at least 38,584 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to data from the health ministry in Gaza.