The Israeli military has deployed insufficiently trained soldiers from its elite Golani and Givati brigades to besieged Gaza amid a critical shortage of troops, Israel's public broadcaster KAN reported.
The recruits have been sent to the battlefield since last December, it said on Sunday.
The move reflects the growing strain on the Israeli military, which has acknowledged a significant manpower shortage.
Last week, the Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported that Army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir had informed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Cabinet that the army's ability to achieve the political leadership's objectives in Gaza could be hindered by the dwindling number of soldiers.
The army has struggled with a lack of regular soldiers over the past few months, exacerbated by the exemption of ultra-Orthodox Jews (Haredim) from conscription and a 30 percent to 40 percent dropout rate among reservists, citing exhaustion from the prolonged genocidal war, according to local media outlets.
The shortage may worsen amid a growing number of petitions signed by Israelis, including active and former soldiers, demanding the release of hostages, even if it requires halting the Gaza war.
More than 140,000 Israelis have signed petitions calling for a ceasefire in exchange for hostages. Among them, 21 petitions have each been signed by more than 10,000 active and former reservists.
Netanyahu and his ministers have threatened to dismiss the signatories, labelling the campaigns "rebellion" and "disobedience" that "strengthen enemies during wartime."
The Palestine Red Crescent says the army's probe justifies the killings of emergency workers and shifts the responsibility to a personal error.
Israeli carnage
Israel has killed over 51,000 Palestinians so far in its carnage in besieged Gaza, mostly women and children. This number was revised to 62,000.
It has reduced most of the blockaded enclave to ruins and displaced almost the entire population.
Israel also put Palestine’s Gaza under siege, blocking entry of food, water, medicine, electricity and other desperately needed humanitarian aid.
In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
