Soldiers express doubts about serving in Gaza but few will refuse to fight
Tens of thousands of reservists in Israel will return to active service in the coming weeks amid an intense debate in their ranks over the war in Gaza, which reflects wider divisions in the country.
Some will be forced to make their decision within days. The Israel Defense Forces began mobilising tens of thousands of reservists on Tuesday after calling up 60,000 for an expanded offensive in Gaza City, one of the few places in the devastated territory outside its control. More will be ordered to report to military bases if the fighting continues for many months, as analysts expect.
Many reservists interviewed by the Guardian last week said they would face “a hard choice” when asked to serve again, citing personal and ideological reasons. Few said they would refuse the call-up, however.
“We are willing to give up our lives … but the obvious truth is that we are dying now for no reason,” said Aviad Yisraeli, a combat medic who was in Gaza last month. “Militarily, there is nothing more to gain … but then it also seems a bad choice to end this war with Hamas with some part of power in Gaza and [holding] some of the hostages and with the kibbutzim [in southern Israel] still vulnerable. So these are hard questions.”
