How Netanyahu’s Gaza Occupation Strategy is Crippling the Israeli Military

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Altaf Moti
Pakistan

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s strategy for an indefinite occupation of the Gaza Strip is creating a severe and escalating crisis within the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). What began as a campaign to dismantle Hamas has morphed into a permanent, low-intensity conflict that is stretching the Israeli military to its breaking point. The plan, driven by political objectives, is failing to deliver security and is instead causing deep damage to the army’s morale, operational readiness, and its very foundation.
A War Without End
The initial phase of Israel’s military operation in Gaza had clear, if ambitious, goals: destroy Hamas’s military and governing capabilities and secure the release of hostages. However, nearly two years later, the absence of a viable “day after” political plan has left the IDF mired in a costly and perpetual occupation. Prime Minister Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected proposals for a revitalized Palestinian Authority or an international force to govern Gaza, insisting on complete Israeli security control.
This policy has forced the military into a role it is ill-equipped to sustain: policing a hostile population of over two million people in a devastated urban landscape. Soldiers are engaged not in decisive battles but in an endless cycle of raids, counter-insurgency operations, and responding to guerrilla attacks. This has transformed Gaza into a strategic quagmire, draining military resources and personnel with no clear victory in sight. The situation increasingly resembles Israel’s disastrous 18-year occupation of Southern Lebanon, a conflict that ended in a unilateral withdrawal and deeply scarred the nation’s psyche.
The Collapse of Soldier Morale
The most immediate consequence of this open-ended war is the erosion of morale within the ranks. Israeli soldiers, particularly the thousands of reservists who form the backbone of the army, were called up with the belief they were fighting a war for their country’s survival. Now, many feel they are serving as instruments of a political policy of permanent occupation.
Reports from within the IDF and in the Israeli press describe widespread exhaustion, psychological distress, and a growing sense of futility. The key factors contributing to this decline include:
* Lack of a Clear Mission: Soldiers are struggling to understand the objective of their continued presence. The goal has shifted from defeating an enemy to controlling a territory indefinitely, a mission that feels both dangerous and pointless.
* Constant Danger: Urban warfare against a resilient insurgency means every patrol and every building carries immense risk. The slow but steady trickle of casualties has a corrosive effect on unit cohesion and morale.
* Ethical Burdens: The daily tasks of managing checkpoints, conducting raids on homes, and dealing with a suffering civilian population place a heavy ethical and psychological strain on young soldiers.
* Reservist Refusal: Most alarmingly for the military command, there is a significant increase in “refusal” (known as sarvanut) among reservists. Once a fringe phenomenon, the refusal to serve in what is seen as a political war of occupation is becoming more common, threatening the IDF’s fundamental social contract.
Economic and Social Disruption
The prolonged mobilization of tens of thousands of reservists has inflicted severe damage on the Israeli economy. These are not just soldiers; they are doctors, engineers, tech entrepreneurs, and teachers. Their extended absence has created critical labor shortages, disrupted supply chains, and hampered innovation in the country’s vital tech sector. Small businesses have been forced to close, and families are struggling with the loss of income and the emotional toll of separation.
This has created deep fissures in Israeli society. A sense of unequal burden is growing, as a significant portion of the reservists comes from the secular, middle-class segment of the population. Meanwhile, the ultra-Orthodox community, which is largely exempt from military service, continues its life undisrupted. This disparity is fueling widespread protests, with families of soldiers joining anti-government demonstrators to demand an end to the war and a concrete plan for the future.
A Weakened Military on a Volatile Border
The intense focus on Gaza has left Israel strategically vulnerable on other fronts. The IDF is experiencing a critical operational overstretch. Military hardware is suffering from extreme wear and tear, ammunition stockpiles are being depleted, and there has been insufficient time for training and preparation for other threats.
The most significant danger lies on the northern border with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Hezbollah, a far more formidable military force than Hamas, has been engaging in daily cross-border attacks. The IDF’s ability to wage a full-scale war in the north is severely compromised while a significant portion of its ground forces are bogged down in Gaza. This erodes Israel’s power of deterrence. Regional adversaries see an Israeli army that is exhausted and overextended, potentially inviting further conflict. Former Israeli generals and military analysts have repeatedly warned that Netanyahu’s Gaza strategy is a strategic mistake that sacrifices national security for political survival.
Political Goals vs. Military Reality
The crisis facing the IDF is a direct result of the clash between the prime minister’s political ambitions and military logic. The IDF’s General Staff has reportedly pushed for strategic clarity and a political solution for post-war Gaza, recognizing that a purely military solution is impossible. Military leaders understand that without a legitimate governing alternative to Hamas, the IDF will be trapped in an unwinnable insurgency forever.
However, Netanyahu’s governing coalition depends on far-right politicians who openly advocate for the re-establishment of Israeli settlements in Gaza and the permanent displacement of Palestinians. To maintain his power, the prime minister has adopted their vision of indefinite control, ignoring the dire warnings from his own military command. The soldiers of the IDF are paying the price for this political calculation.
In conclusion, the plan to occupy Gaza indefinitely is not making Israel safer. It is systematically dismantling its most important strategic asset: its army. By trapping soldiers in a hopeless conflict, draining the economy, and weakening its posture against greater threats, Netanyahu’s policy is leading the Israeli army down a path of exhaustion and crisis, with grave implications for the future security of the state.
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