Israeli reservists' protests expose rift as Gaza City offensive escalates

As Israel intensifies its offensive in Gaza City, the voices of dissent within its own ranks are growing louder. This week, hundreds of reservists took to the streets of Tel Aviv to oppose the government’s fresh mobilisation order, questioning both the purpose of the war and the human cost it continues to exact.

The protest was small compared with the size of Israel’s reserve force, but highly symbolic. In a country where nearly all Jewish men serve in the army and remain in the reserves for years afterwards, refusal to answer a call-up is no minor act. It risks jail time, social ostracism and accusations of disloyalty in a state that equates military service with citizenship itself.

Yet the protesters were unambiguous. “We are being asked to sacrifice again and again for a war that has no end,” said one former combat reservist. “Every month we return to Gaza, and every month we are told Hamas will be crushed. Meanwhile, Gaza lies in ruins, and our society is breaking apart.”

Mobilisation amid despair

The Israeli military confirmed that at least 60,000 reservists will be summoned gradually, with the terms of a further 20,000 extended. The timing, at the start of September, reflects the strain on a force that has been at war for nearly two years.

But as mobilisation proceeds, the destruction in Gaza City deepens unease even among loyal reservists. Many now ask privately whether their service is being squandered on a campaign that has devastated civilians without achieving Israel’s stated aim of eliminating Hamas.

Zeitoun and Shijaiyah — once vibrant neighbourhoods of Gaza City — have been reduced to rubble by repeated incursions. Israel designates Zeitoun a “dangerous combat zone”, yet civilians remain trapped, forced to choose between bombardment at home and displacement to the makeshift tent city of Muwasi further south.

Growing number of Israeli reservists saying they don’t want to take part in Gaza City offensive. At an event where reservists are speaking out pic.twitter.com/xgrTBawhwE

— Richard Engel (@RichardEngel) September 2, 2025

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On Tuesday alone, at least 47 Palestinians were killed across the strip, according to hospital records. In Gaza City, Shifa Hospital reported 26 deaths from strikes since dawn, while the Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood was hit overnight, killing 15 people including three children. Rescue workers pulled a bloodied infant alive from beneath the rubble, a rare moment of survival amid unrelenting carnage.

For many Israeli reservists, these scenes are not distant abstractions. Some served in units that carried out operations in Gaza and returned haunted by what they witnessed. Now, as images of lifeless children and flattened homes circulate worldwide, dissenters argue that military service risks implicating them in atrocities.

Protests mirror international condemnation

The Tel Aviv demonstrations echo criticism voiced abroad. Humanitarian agencies accuse Israel of violating international law by turning aid into a battlefield. On Tuesday, hospitals in Khan Younis and Nuseirat reported 22 bodies from strikes near food distribution points and UN convoy corridors.

The Gaza health ministry says more than 2,300 aid seekers have died in recent months, some shot while heading to collection sites, others killed in stampedes or by direct strikes. Israel disputes the figures but has provided no alternative accounting. For reservists on the streets of Tel Aviv, such reports underscore why they refuse to participate: “This isn’t self-defence anymore,” one said. “It’s collective punishment.”

Hunger as a weapon

The sense of alarm deepens with famine now officially declared in Gaza City. In August, 185 Palestinians died of malnutrition, the highest monthly toll so far. Children are among the dead, their skeletal frames a haunting indictment of a blockade that prevents adequate food or medical supplies from reaching the enclave.

Israel Police cleared a protest organized by left-wing activists calling for an end to the war and the recognition of a Palestinian state, despite receiving permission for the protest, after right-wing activists arrived and began attacking participantshttps://t.co/k7WESauP17 https://t.co/GKRkgAgEvb

— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) September 2, 2025

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Israel maintains that Hamas diverts aid, but critics argue the siege itself is the root cause. Among protesting reservists, the idea of being sent back into uniform to enforce a starvation strategy is intolerable. Some hold banners warning: 'We will not fight for hunger'.

Mounting losses, mounting doubts

According to Gaza’s health ministry, 63,633 Palestinians have been killed and 160,914 wounded since the conflict began. Israel disputes these numbers but does not release its own tally. Even taking conservative estimates, the scale of civilian casualties has become one of the war’s defining features.

For many Israelis, the spiralling toll raises painful questions. Nearly two years on, Hamas remains entrenched despite repeated Israeli offensives. The war began on 7 October 2023, when Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people in Israel and abducted 251 hostages. Today, 48 hostages remain in Gaza, only around 20 believed alive. Despite these grim statistics, the government insists that further mobilisation is necessary.

Protesting reservists counter that endless deployments have brought neither security nor closure. “Every life lost — Israeli or Palestinian — makes the next peace harder to reach,” one demonstrator argued. “How many times can we level Gaza before we admit the policy has failed?”

Israel at a crossroads

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presents the war as existential, but the protests suggest a growing segment of Israeli society sees it as self-destructive. By defying mobilisation orders, reservists are challenging not just government policy but the military’s central role in national identity.

The numbers refusing service remain small, but their symbolism is immense. If more join them, Israel could face not only international condemnation but a crisis of legitimacy within its own armed forces.

As Gaza’s skyline crumbles and its children waste away, the chants in Tel Aviv carry a message of alarm: Israel risks destroying not only Gaza, but itself.

With AP/PTI inputs