Israeli occupation military announced on Tuesday death of a reservist soldier in the Gaza strip, as it admitted for the first time manpower shortfall.
In a statement, the occupation army said the soldier, of the 5th Brigade’s 7020th Battalion, was killed in Gaza battles on Monday.
The soldier was killed after a blast caused a building to collapse during operations in the Rafah area, The Times of Israeli cited a preliminary probe by the occupation military.
The military suspects the blast was caused by a planted explosive device, it added.
Earlier on Monday, Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas Palestinian resistance group announced that its fighters detonated an explosive device southeast of Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza Strip.
The resistance group confirmed inflicting losses upon the occupation soldiers.
Israeli Army Manpower Shortfall
Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation military acknowledged for the first time a major depletion in its ranks, Hebrew media reported.
“For the first time, the Israeli army admits that its forces are significantly depleted. It estimates a shortage of around 7,500 soldiers,” the Hebrew-language daily Maariv said on Monday.
According to the report, the army is currently lacking 300 platoon commanders in combat units across its ground forces.
The media of the Israel regime report a shortage of 300 officers in the army of that regime, and a decision to reduce the number of reserve soldiers by 30% due to the heavy pressure and exhaustion caused by the war.
🔹The shortage of officers is especially pronounced in the… pic.twitter.com/8hsJglhLpr— Sprinter Observer (@SprinterObserve) July 21, 2025
The army admitted that it has been “difficult to convince capable soldiers to join the officer training program,” and said it had resorted to appointing experienced sergeants as acting platoon commanders to fill the gap.
Maariv said that another shortfall lies in company-level leadership.
“In recent months, the army has been forced to assign officers to roles in both regular and reserve units who have not completed the official company commander course,” the paper said.
As for the war in Gaza, Maariv noted that “a significant number of officers and commanders have been killed,” and that “hundreds have been injured.”
Source: Al-Manar English Website and Israeli media
