Israel's military will start calling up 60,000 reservists, and extend active duty for some 20,000 reservists already serving in the country's exhausted army, as it proceeds with its planned occupation of Gaza City, an official told the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. It reports reservists will receive letters soon ahead of a full-on takeover, planned for September. This comes at a time when most Israelis want the government to end the war in exchange for the remaining hostages (about 20 alive, 30 dead) held by Hamas. Hamas on Monday said it agreed to a proposal for a 60-day ceasefire that was nearly identical to the one Israel proposed earlier this summer, but Israel has not yet signed on.
In March, the number of reservists reporting for duty was 30% below the number requested by Israel's military commanders, Israeli news outlet Ynet reported. A new poll of hundreds of people serving in the military shows 47% report negative feelings toward the government and its handling of the war while more than 35% report decreased motivation, per Reuters. One reservist pilot taking part in nationwide protests on Sunday said he'd served for more than 200 days but stopped when the last ceasefire ended. "This war is entirely political, it has no goal except to keep Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister," he said. A combat medic said he refused to "be part of a system that knows that it will kill the hostages" during the Gaza takeover.
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