IDF chief warns of potential collapse due to manpower shortage: report

Israel Defence Forces (IDF) chief Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir told a security cabinet meeting that the military “is going to collapse in on itself” amid a growing manpower shortage, Israeli media reported.

“I am raising 10 red flags in front of you. Right now, the IDF needs a conscription law, a reserve duty law, and a law to extend mandatory service,” Gen. Zamir told Ministers, according to a report Channel 13. “Before long, the IDF will not be ready for its routine missions and the reserve system will not last,” he said. The Times of Israel also reported his comments.

Gen. Zamir’s comments came at a time when Israel is fighting wars on different fronts. It has been carrying out extensive air strikes on Iran since February 28. The IDF has also invaded Lebanon to fight Hezbollah and occupy more Lebanese territory in the south. In the West Bank, where settler violence against Palestinians is on the rise, the IDF has deployed thousands troops.

On Thursday (March 26, 2026), the IDF announced that an Israeli soldier was killed and four others wounded in a Hezbollah anti-tank missile attack. Since the latest fighting with Hezbollah began on March 2, at least four Israeli troops have been killed. Hezbollah says it is resisting the Israeli invasion in the south, and has launched hundreds of rockets into Israel in the past three weeks. According to Lebanese authorities, at least 1,070 were killed by Israeli strikes since March 2. More than 1 million people have been displaced.

Israel’s Opposition Leader Yair Lapid blamed the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for “sending the army into a multi-front war without a strategy, without sufficient resources, and with too few soldiers.”

“This time, the government will not be able to say, ‘I didn’t know.’ This is the chief of staff they appointed, and they will not be able to politicise him and shift the blame onto him,” Mr. Lapid said.