Israel’s Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir issued an internal warning to the Security Cabinet on Wednesday night, telling senior officials that the Israeli military is operating under unsustainable strain and declaring that he is “raising 10 red flags” and that the army is “collapsing in on itself.”

Zamir’s remarks, delivered during a closed cabinet discussion, reflects mounting pressure on the IDF from multiple directions simultaneously: an overwhelming operational tempo, the crushing burden on reserve soldiers, a prolonged failure to pass a conscription law, extended reserve duty tours, and, in the background, the political demands accompanying the establishment of new settlements.

The comments landed like a thunderclap in Israel’s political arena, drawing immediate and sharp responses from opposition leaders who accused the government of willful negligence.

“The Chief of Staff is warning of the collapse of the IDF, and the government is ignoring it,” said Yair Lapid, leader of the opposition and chairman of the Yesh Atid party, placing the responsibility squarely on the current government’s shoulders.

Former Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot, now a political figure himself, warned that the political leadership would not be able to claim ignorance, and called for the immediate advancement of a compulsory military service law applying to the entire population — a pointed reference to the exemptions currently afforded to Chareidi men, which have become one of the most explosive fault lines in Israeli society.

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett put a number to the crisis, saying the IDF is short approximately 20,000 soldiers. “What on earth are you waiting for?” Bennett said. “A government that depends on Deri and Goldknopf is incapable of providing security for the State of Israel.”

Avigdor Lieberman, chairman of the secular nationalist Yisrael Beiteinu party, was equally blunt. “The Chief of Staff warns that draft-dodging harms Israel’s security, but the government ignores it once again,” he said. “The IDF is facing the most severe manpower crisis in its history — we must enlist everyone.”

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