Israelis, Your Country Needs You!

Drafting to the IDF in times of war

Military history and communications are two of my personal and professional passions.

Famous examples of the cross-over between the two are plenty in number.

One that comes to mind is the famous campaign run by the British government to encourage recruitment to the armed forces during World War One.

“Britons, your country needs you!” was a compelling slogan that helped mobilize the country in wartime.

In Israel, no such wartime campaign was required.

Since October 7th, the IDF has seen record levels of reservists reporting for duty. Well over 300,000 were mobilized in the first days of the war.

Furthermore, the IDF is a conscript military - and has been since its establishment in 1948. That means that at age 18, all Israelis (with certain exceptions) are drafted to serve: men for two years and eight months, and women for two years.

This is one of the reasons why the IDF is known inside Israel as ‘the people’s army.’ 

But with our focus on the war, how is the IDF continuing to draft new soldiers into its ranks?

Here’s a breakdown of what the Winter ‘23 draft to the IDF will look like:

• In the coming weeks, thousands of new soldiers are expected to begin their military service.

  

• Among them are both men and women designated for different combat, combat support and non-combat units.

• With the war ongoing, recruitment is being conducted with full adherence to the guidelines of the Home Front Command.

• The IDF has put in place special and sensitive measures for soldiers coming from the communities near the Gaza Strip, as well as for soldiers from bereaved families. A dedicated center has been established in the ‘Meitav” Unit to maintain personal contact with soldiers from these backgrounds.

• With the onset of the war, the IDF began a process of adapting basic training for implementation during the war. Commanders who participated in the war have been integrated into the training staff, and lessons from the current fighting were incorporated into the training. Where necessary, an "operational chapter" was also added towards the end of the training.

• 135 haredi (ultra-Orthodox Jewish) Israelis are enlisting today in a special ‘Phase B’ draft for members of Israel’s haredi population. This brings the total number of haredi draftees since the start of the war to 449.

Israelis, your country needs you. We have no doubt that you’ll all rise to the challenge.

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800 and counting

A running theme in my newsletters to you all has been Hamas’ terror tunnels in Gaza and our efforts to uncover and destroy them.

Today, I can report on our progress on this front.

Since the beginning of our ground operations, our forces have skillfully located over 800 shafts leading to these tunnels. Approximately 500 of these shafts have now been effectively neutralized using various operational methods.

These tunnels - intricately woven beneath civilian areas, including schools, kindergartens, mosques, and playgrounds - have posed a complex challenge. Their positioning within civilian infrastructure is a clear indicator of Hamas' strategy to leverage civilian areas for their operations, underscoring their disregard for innocent lives and safety.

The discovery of large quantities of weapons in some of these shafts has only further solidified the necessity of our actions. 

By employing meticulous investigations and strategic planning, our forces are ensuring that each tunnel route is comprehensively understood before initiating its destruction. 

This thorough approach is pivotal in our commitment to neutralizing the tunnel threat with precision and accuracy.

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Operational Updates:

Gaza:

• Since Hamas violated the operational pause on Friday, the IDF has operated against Hamas forces across the Gaza Strip. In ongoing ground, aerial and naval strikes, our forces have struck terror operatives, tunnel shafts, command centers and weapons storage facilities.

• Together with the Shin Bet, we struck and killed the Commander of Hamas’ Shati Battalion, Haitham Khuwajari, earlier today. Under his command, Hamas terrorists carried out raids into Israeli territory on October 7th during the invasion and massacre in southern Israel.

• Late Saturday night, Hamas fired rockets toward southern and central Israel, including the Tel Aviv Metropolitan area. Rocket alerts continued throughout Sunday in areas near the Gaza Strip.

North:

• On Sunday, numerous anti-tank missiles were fired from Lebanon. In one attack, several IDF soldiers were lightly injured. In response to the attacks, the IDF struck Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in Lebanon.

 Judea and Samaria:

• Overnight, IDF forces apprehended 34 wanted suspects, 8 of which are Hamas operatives. 

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What I’m Reading:

• A very difficult but important read in The Sunday Times:

  First Hamas fighters raped her. Then they shot her in the head (thetimes.co.uk)

• An interview with my friend and comrade Lt. Col. (Res.) Amnon Shefler:

  How Israeli forces take big risks to avoid harming civilians (nypost.com)

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Thanks everyone for reading today,

Lt. Col. Richard Hecht