A Hebrew newspaper confirmed that there is a significant shortage in the number of soldiers in the Israeli army after losing ten thousand soldiers who were "killed or wounded" during the battles in the Gaza Strip. The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said in a report published today, Sunday, that "the army is suffering from a shortage estimated at at least ten thousand soldiers who were killed or wounded during the long months of fighting in the Gaza Strip." It pointed out that about "a thousand Israeli soldiers join the rehabilitation department of the Ministry of Defense every month after being injured in the ongoing battles in the Gaza Strip." The newspaper criticized the Knesset (parliament) for going on its summer vacation, from July 22nd until mid-October, without approving legislation to extend compulsory service. The newspaper quoted the father of one of the soldiers in the "Nahal" Brigade, who is currently serving in Rafah: "There has never been such a situation in the history of Israeli wars, not even in 1948, where soldiers fight inside enemy territory, under unfavorable conditions, for ten consecutive months." According to the newspaper, the female soldiers who work in the observation unit in the northern occupied Syrian Golan Heights were 'arbitrarily notified in recent days that they would spend another four months, even though they were supposed to be discharged next September. One of the mothers of the female soldiers said: 'They were informed of this without explanation and without giving answers, as a sudden fait accompli.' On July 14, the Israeli government unanimously approved a bill to extend the service of regular soldiers in the army from 32 months to 36 months, which sparked anger among soldiers who were about to end their military service, according to the same source. In order for the bill to become law, the Knesset must vote on it in three readings, which did not happen because the Knesset went on its summer recess. Source: National Iraqi News Agency
Friday, September 20, 2024