26-05-2025
Israeli reservists answer the call despite challenges
RAMAT GAN: Reservist Haim Halevi had to quit his job and leave his young son behind to fight in Gaza, but still felt "proud" to serve after his third call-up in 18 months.
Israel's military is activating tens of thousands of reservists for its expanded offensive in Gaza, which it says is aimed at defeating Hamas militants in the Palestinian territory.
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Despite professional, mental and family challenges, most reservists continue to turn up to fight in a war now in its 20th month.
"No one is forcing me... I'm proud to defend my country," said Halevi, a 35-year-old father of two and non-commissioned officer in a combat unit.
He has served more than 200 days since the war began.
Reservists serve on a voluntary basis in Israel, and 75 percent have responded positively to the call, according to a report presented to parliament.
The army says approximately 295,000 soldiers have been called up since the war began on October 7, 2023 with Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel.
Overall, the reservists have served an average of 61 days a year, compared with just eight pre-war. Combat units like Halevi's often serve longer stints.
Halevi described himself as a "patriot", but also spoke of the difficulties of returning to the front.
Like many reservists, on the morning of October 7 he rushed to the area around Gaza to help repel the Hamas attack, even before receiving a call-up.
He was then deployed to the Gaza Strip when Israeli ground operations started, and spent almost five months fighting there.
Support fund
Halevi had to leave his job in IT and regrets not seeing his son, now two, grow up.
"I left when he was six months old, and when I came back he already had teeth and hair," he said.
His upcoming redeployment is also complicating major life events like a move and plans to start a business, but "there's nothing you can do about it", he said.
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"If everyone says it's not the right time for them, who will serve in the reserves?"
Every one of his deployments is an ordeal for his wife Michal, 29, who said she dreads his next departure in mid-July.
"I'll be alone with two small children -- everything will fall on me," she said.
She "got used to the lack of sleep" caring for their son on her own. "But being alone in the evenings, it was hard. It was really hard."
Halevi's last tour ended six months ago, with the birth of the couple's daughter.
The government recently voted to create a fund of three billion shekels (more than $840 million) to support reservists.
"Those who give everything to the state, we must give everything to them," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
But some reservists say the support does not address the roots of the financial hardship they face.
A recent Direct Polls survey found that 68 percent of respondents felt the government was not doing enough to support reservists.
And while most, like Halevi, have continued to respond positively to call-ups, increasing numbers are refusing.
Anti-war group
Last week, in a rare case, a reservist who had reportedly already served more than 200 days was given 20 days in military prison for refusing to return over his moral objection to the Gaza war.
While the army does not provide details about such refusals, reservists online have called for an end to the war, or at least for the army to stop tapping the same troops for repeated stints.
A member of an anti-war reservist group, who gave his name as Stav, told AFP at an event in support of the jailed man that "more and more soldiers are joining us".
He called refusal a "patriotic act as an Israeli who believes in the future of this country".
A study by Polly Labs, in conjunction with NGOs, showed that the difficulties reservists and their families face are only getting worse.
Based on surveys of more than 2,300 reservist spouses, it found 45 percent of reservists and 68 percent of their spouses reported experiencing emotional distress since the war started.
Money problems also affect many, with 47 percent citing daily difficulties and 72 percent of the self-employed reporting direct financial losses.
"I am aware of the weight of the mission, the responsibility and the burden we are placing on you and your families," army chief Eyal Zamir told reservists at a base in mid-May.
Halevi, meanwhile, has created an internet platform, Milnik, which aims to connect donors with reservists in need.
"I am proud of him and I support him, but it's difficult," his wife said.
