![A woman reads the names of fallen Israeli soldiers, in Mount Hertzl, on Israel's Memorial Day, as armed female Israeli soldiers pass by on April 30, 2025 in Jerusalem, Israel. [Photo by ORI AVIRAM/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/GettyImages-2212206007-1.jpg?fit=920%2C613&ssl=1)
After 20 months of genocide on the Gaza Strip, Israel is suffering from an acute manpower shortage and has turned to women to replace key roles.
Prior to Israel’s assault on the besieged Gaza strip, female soldiers were largely confined to duties such as guarding borders and staffing checkpoints across the illegally occupied West Bank. However, the protracted military campaign has pushed women onto the frontlines in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria.
In May, the Israeli military acknowledged a shortfall exceeding 10,000 soldiers. The crisis is compounded by revelations that over 9,000 reserve troops involved in the Gaza offensive are now undergoing treatment for psychological trauma. Israeli media reports have highlighted the toll the war has taken on soldiers, further straining the military’s capacity to sustain prolonged operations
One in five combat soldiers in the Israeli military is now said to be female with women entering into more dangerous combat zones to make up for the shortage of fighters.
In response, the Israeli government is now also targeting ultra-Orthodox Jewish men for conscription. Following a Supreme Court ruling overturning long-standing exemptions, the military is attempting to integrate this demographic, around 13 per cent of the population, into active service.
Despite the recruitment of women, most elite combat roles remain inaccessible to them, suggesting that their increased presence in combat is a stopgap measure rather than a systemic shift.
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