Israeli soldiers, and their mothers, increasingly reject calls to return
to Gaza
[September 12, 2025]
By SAM MEDNICK
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — As Israel calls up tens of thousands of
reservists for its invasion of Gaza City, a growing number of soldiers —
and their mothers — are saying no.
There are no official figures, but newly formed groups are broadcasting
their refusal to serve despite the risk of imprisonment. It's a new
phenomenon in the nearly two-year war sparked by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023,
attack, though so far it has had no apparent effect on military
operations.
The defiance is emerging as Israelis have joined mass protests accusing
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of prolonging the war for political
purposes instead of reaching a deal with Hamas to bring back the
remaining 48 hostages, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
Many opponents, including former senior security officials, fear that
the latest offensive will achieve little and put the hostages at risk.
Israel also faces heavy international criticism over the humanitarian
catastrophe unleashed by the war and its blockade.
One group calling on Israel's leaders to stop sending their children
into war is comprised of mothers who fear their sons will die in vain.
“I couldn’t stop thinking of how to break his leg, break his arm, wound
him in some way that he won’t be able to go back,” Noorit Felsenthal-Berger
said as she wiped tears from her cheeks, terrified her youngest son will
be forced to return.
Fatigue and dwindling morale
Avshalom Zohar Sal, a 28-year-old soldier and medic who served multiple
tours in Gaza, said soldiers are exhausted, demoralized and no longer
know what they are fighting for.
His doubts first surfaced last year, when he was serving in an area near
where six hostages were later killed by their captors as Israeli troops
closed in. “I felt this was my fault,” he said.
His skepticism deepened during his most recent tour, in June, when he
saw troops returning to the same areas where they had fought earlier in
the war. He said some soldiers seemed less focused, leaving them
vulnerable to attacks from a vastly diminished but still lethal Hamas.
“Don’t put me in the position that I need to decide if I’m going to risk
again my life,” he said, addressing the military.
A group known as Soldiers for Hostages says it represents more than 360
soldiers who refuse to serve. While the number remains small, it is a
contrast from the early days of the war, when reservists rushed for duty
in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack. Such refusal is punishable by
imprisonment, but that has only happened in a handful of cases.
“Netanyahu’s ongoing war of aggression needlessly puts our own hostages
in danger and has wreaked havoc on the fabric of Israeli society, while
at the same time killing, maiming and starving an entire population" of
civilians in Gaza, Max Kresch, a member of the group, said at a Sept. 2
news conference.
Another group known as Save Our Souls, or SOS, says it represents nearly
1,000 mothers of soldiers. A similar movement was credited with helping
to end Israel’s 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon in 2000.
“We have to be their voice,” said Felsenthal-Berger, whose two sons have
fought in Gaza. The group has held protests around the country, met with
government officials and published letters. She says her sons, including
one on active duty, are no longer in Gaza. She says they support her
efforts but have not officially refused to serve.
Yifat Gadot says her 22-year-old son, who fought in Gaza for nine months
at the start of the war, told her that soldiers there felt like sitting
ducks. More than 450 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the start
of the 2023 ground invasion, according to the army.
“I told him, ‘We the mothers will do everything we can to get you out of
Gaza and save you from this political war,’” she said.
[to top of second column]
|
Israeli combat reservists take position during training in the
Israeli-controlled Golan Heights on May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad
Zwigenberg, File)
Some of the women have encouraged their sons to refuse to report
back for action in Gaza, while others say they respect their son's
decisions. All say their message is aimed primarily at the country's
leaders.
Netanyahu's office declined to comment.
Israelis are fed up, but military service is ‘sacrosanct’
Israel's call-up of 60,000 reservists is the largest in months, in a
country of fewer than 10 million people where military service is
mandatory for most Jewish men. Many have already served multiple
tours away from their families and businesses.
The Israeli government’s failure to draft ultra-Orthodox men into
the military has added to their anger. Religious men have long
avoided military service through exemptions negotiated by their
politically powerful leaders, who have been a key component of
Netanyahu's government. That has fueled resentment among the broader
public — a sentiment that has grown during nearly two years of war.
The military does not provide figures on absences or refusals and
says each case is evaluated on its merits. “The contribution of the
reservists is essential to the success of missions and to
maintaining the security of the country," it said.
At least three soldiers associated with the Soldiers for Hostages
group have been imprisoned this year for refusing to serve, with
some jailed for up to three weeks, the group said.
Support for the war ran high after Hamas-led militants attacked
southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people, mostly
civilians, and abducting 251.
But sentiment has changed over the course of the war, especially
since Israel ended a ceasefire in March that had facilitated the
release of hostages. The war has killed more than 64,000
Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The agency
doesn't say how many of the dead were civilians or militants, but
says about half the dead were women and children.
A recent poll found that around two-thirds of Israelis, including
about 60% of Israeli Jews, think Israel should agree to a deal that
includes the release of all the hostages, the cessation of
hostilities and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
The poll, conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute in the last
week of August, surveyed 600 people in Hebrew and 150 people in
Arabic. It has a margin of sampling error of 3.6 percentage points.
Hamas has long said it would accept a deal along those lines, but
Netanyahu has refused. He has said the war will end only when all
the hostages are returned and Hamas is disarmed, with Israel
maintaining open-ended security control over the territory.
Mairav Zonszein, a senior analyst with the International Crisis
Group, said that pushing soldiers in a deeply divided country to
keep fighting could have a lasting impact on Israel’s capabilities.
Many believe that divisions over a planned judicial overhaul in
2023, which generated mass protests and threats from soldiers not to
serve, weakened Israel ahead of the Oct. 7 attack.
Still, refusing military service remains a red line for many in
Israel. “The military, and serving in it, is still sacrosanct,”
Zonszein said.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
