Israel maintains strict censorship on reporting its military losses in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli army has acknowledged for the first time a major depletion in its ranks amid the ongoing military assault on the Gaza Strip, the Anadolu news agency reported, citing Israeli media.
“For the first time, the Israeli army admits that its forces are significantly depleted. It estimates a shortage of around 7,500 soldiers,” the Hebrew-language daily Maariv stated, according to Anadolu.
The IOF is facing a manpower crisis, with a reported shortage of 300 officers and thousands of soldiers, particularly in its engineering and combat units, amid rising casualties and expanding operations. #Palestine https://t.co/c92phguyWo
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) July 21, 2025
The army is currently lacking 300 platoon commanders in combat units across its ground forces, the report noted.
It said the army admitted that it has been “difficult to convince capable soldiers to join the officer training program,” adding that it had resorted to appointing experienced sergeants as acting platoon commanders to fill the gap.
Combat Engineering Corps
Citing the Maariv article, Al Mayadeen also reported that the shortage is particularly critical in the Combat Engineering Corps, “where there is a lack of platoon leaders and teams specializing in engineering operations and explosive ordnance disposal.”
Maariv reportedly added that another shortfall lies in company-level leadership, according to the Anadolu report.
“In recent months, the army has been forced to assign officers to roles in both regular and reserve units who have not completed the official company commander course,” the paper said.
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Regarding the military operation in Gaza, Maariv noted that “a significant number of officers and commanders have been killed,” and that “hundreds have been injured.”
Commanders in both regular and reserve units told the newspaper that the leadership crisis extends beyond platoon and company levels, reaching battalion commanders, who bear a heavy combat burden while remaining away from home and family.
Many battalion commanders have expressed interest in retiring due to workload and extended deployments, the daily said.
‘Fallen’ Soldiers
Al Mayadeen reported that Maariv also cited military sources who admitted that a large number of officers and commanders have been killed in the ongoing Gaza operation, with hundreds more injured. Many of those injured have also yet to recover and return to duty.
“Large numbers of officers and commanders have fallen in the war,” the daily reported, according to Al Mayadeen.
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Despite more than 21 months since the start of the genocidal assault on Gaza in October 2023, Palestinian resistance factions continue to conduct well-planned ambushes in the enclave, inflicting casualties on Israeli forces, Anadolu reported.
Israel maintains strict censorship on reporting its military losses in Gaza and has not published an updated toll for its dead and wounded, prompting speculation that actual figures may be significantly higher, the report added.
Ongoing Genocidal Operation
Since Israel’s reneging on the ceasefire on March 18, it has killed and wounded thousands of Palestinians throughout the Gaza Strip through a bloody and ongoing aerial bombardment.
On October 7, 2023, following a Palestinian Resistance operation in southern Israel, the Israeli military launched a genocidal war against the Palestinians, killing over 58,000, wounding more than 139,000, with over 14,000 still missing.
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Despite habitual condemnation by many countries around the world of the Israeli genocide, little has been done to hold Israel accountable.
Israel is currently under investigation for the crime of genocide by the International Court of Justice, while accused war criminals — including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — are now officially wanted by the International Criminal Court.
The Israeli genocide has been largely defended, supported, and financed by Washington and a few other Western powers.
(Anadolu, Al Mayadeen, PC)
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