Staff meeting
© Israel ArmyIsrael Army staff meeting in session
The Israeli army chief of staff repeated his warnings that the military needs to urgently address a growing shortage of troops.

The Israeli military is preparing for an expansion of its ground campaign in south Lebanon, Hebrew media reported on 11 May, coinciding with concerns over a shortage of troops within Tel Aviv's ranks.

According to Israel's Channel 12, the preparations come within the context of what Tel Aviv is calling Hezbollah's "ceasefire violations." The report said:
"We are preparing for the possibility that the political echelon will give the green light to expand the operation in Lebanon, and we are making the necessary preparations on the ground accordingly."
The report came a day after Israeli army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir warned during a Knesset session that the military desperately needed more troops. Zamir, during a closed session of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said:
"I am not preoccupied with political or legislative processes, but rather focused on the multi-front war and on defeating the enemy. To continue doing this, the Israeli army needs more soldiers immediately.

"The reserve army will collapse in on itself. There will be an unreasonable burden on the reservists. If nothing changes, the reservists will not be able to withstand this pressure in the years to come."
The army chief had previously warned that the Israeli military would collapse unless changes were made.

"I am raising 10 red flags before the IDF collapses into itself," he said in March.

In the years that have followed the start of the Gaza genocide, Tel Aviv has been unable to reach a consensus on a law for drafting tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Israeli Jews (Haredim) into the army.

Haredim, mainly those studying the Torah, have been largely exempt from military service for decades. In June 2024, the Israeli High Court ordered that they be drafted, following significant tension on the matter.

Ultra-Orthodox parties, which make up a significant bulk of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government, have sought to make sure exemptions remain legal - while the opposition accused the Haredim of not doing their part for the army.

The government has been unable to pass a law that would appease both the Haredi parties and the opposition.

The Channel 12 report coincides with a brutal escalation of Israeli airstrikes against south Lebanon.

Two people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the town of Zibdine on Monday. Strikes hit multiple other areas, including eastern Lebanon's Bekaa.

Since Israel's war and ground assault against Lebanon began in early March, the Israeli army has occupied dozens of Lebanese villages, establishing a Gaza-style buffer zone area that has been labeled the "Forward Defense Line."

Throughout the so-called 'ceasefire,' Hezbollah has focused on targeting the Israeli troops occupying south Lebanon, while less frequently sending rockets and drones across the border in response to brutal Israeli airstrikes on civilians.

The group's operations, particularly the use of FPV drones, have proved a major thorn in Tel Aviv's side.

Israeli Army Radio reported on 7 May that the military ignored warnings about the danger of these FPV drones and did not begin implementing proper steps to protect its troops until facing heavy casualties from Hezbollah's use of the weapon this year.

The Lebanese resistance movement carried out an attack recently on an Iron Dome battery across the border - hitting it with an explosive FPV drone before subsequently striking the military crew sent to replace it.

The sophisticated and successful resistance operation has prompted a military probe, Israeli Army Radio revealed in a report on Monday.

The report referred to the attack as one of the most serious during the ongoing war. Israel has admitted to the deaths of 18 soldiers in south Lebanon since early March.