Key Points
- Israel has called up 350,000 of its reservists as its conflict with Hamas escalates.
- Women are required to serve two years in the Israel Defence Forces and men must serve at least 32 months.
- An Israeli official has confirmed that Israeli-Australians have been mobilised to fight in its military.
Israel has called up 350,000 reservists to assist the country’s defence force .
In a nation of less than 10 million people, this equates to more than 3 per cent of its entire population.
How does the country manage to have such
In Israel, it's due to compulsory military service for young people.
An extensive logistical effort has gone into mobilising hundreds of thousands of Israeli reservists. Source: Supplied / Israel Defense Forces
The escalating Israeli-Hamas conflict
More than 2,200 people have been killed in both Gaza and Israel and tensions remain high after the events of 7 October, when infiltrated Israel.
Hamas militants stormed through towns, in the deadliest day of violence in Israel for 50 years.
In retaliation, Israel has vowed to annihilate Hamas and ordered residents of the northern half of the Gaza Strip to move south immediately.
“With the support of an extensive logistical effort and hundreds of thousands of drafted reservists, IDF forces are currently preparing to implement a wide range of operational offensive plans,” a statement released by the Israel Defence Forces on Saturday read.
University of Sydney senior lecturer in peace and conflict studies Eyal Mayroz said 350,000 Israelis had been called up to serve their country since 7 October.
"With the 150,000 [members of the] regular army, the Israeli army's ballooned into half a million soldiers," he said.
Turning civilians into soldiers
When Israeli students finish high school, most must serve two or three years in the country's defence forces.
Mayroz said that, while , the majority of young people are required to do their time.
The mobilisation of about 350,000 reservists will boost the IDF's numbers to about half a million. Source: Getty / joseh51camera
According to the IDF, it's this basic training that "turns civilians into soldiers".
According to its website, basic training lasts about four months and participants "learn the values and fundamentals of combat soldiers, including routine and military discipline, physical training, field weeks, weapons training, shooting, and the principles of the IDF."
Once the training is complete, they officially join the ranks of the military.
Roles in the IDF
From that point, the new conscripts are assigned a role in a brigade.
"There's anything from combat to intelligence to medical, drivers, cooks, admin," Mayroz said.
The IDF website lists a range of different units soldiers may be part of, including working with specially trained dogs in the canine unit, learning combat skills for specific environments in the alpinist or underwater fighting units or the General Staff Reconnaissance Unit, which has been referred to as Israel's version of the SAS.
Men must serve at least 32 months in the IDF, while women are only required to serve two years — and there are exemptions for those who are pregnant, have children or are married.
Many Israelis remain reservists for decades
Having completed their military service, many Israelis remain reservists — which means they return for training at times to keep their skills relevant and can be called up to serve in emergency situations.
Mayroz said that — depending on the type of role a person has in the IDF, and other life factors — Israeli citizens may remain reservists for more than two decades after completing their initial service.
He said that, while he expected those who had become permanent citizens of other countries were likely taken off the reserve list, there may be some Israelis who were in Australia temporarily who had received an order to report for duty.
Military service has been compulsory for most young Israelis since 1948. Source: Getty / joseh51camera
It is understood some Australians have taken commercial flights to travel to the country, while others were flown by the Israeli government out of Bangkok.
Mayroz said that, after recent events, many Israelis wouldn't wait for an order.
"When people feel that Israel is under a meaningful threat, especially if they feel it is an existential threat, then quite a lot of Israelis who are young and still in reserve service, just buy a plane ticket and fly home to Israel to join their units," he said.
Volunteering to serve
Baruch, an Israeli-Australian man who has been living in Melbourne and wanted to be known by his first name only, put his studies on hold to rejoin the Israeli military.
He completed his service two years ago and told SBS World News he felt compelled to head home to serve his country.
“It was quite a split-second decision where I knew I had to go — this was both as a human, seeing what has happened in Israel, the slaughtering of innocent women and children … and a third-generation Holocaust survivor.
"I couldn’t continue on with my life, go back to university, knowing the atrocious things that are happening,” Baruch said.
Despite studying in Australia, Baruch decided to return to Israel to bolster his country's defence forces. Source: SBS News
"Australians who travel to fight who are not serving in the armed forces of a foreign country may be committing a criminal offence," the spokesperson said.
He reminded Australians that and Australians who travel to fight with a terrorist organisation, or recruit another person to do so, were committing a criminal offence.
While the circumstances of individuals are not known, a total of 389 travellers have departed Australia on Israeli travel documents between 7 and 14 October, while less than five travellers have left Australia on Palestinian Authority travel documents.
If you are concerned that someone you know may be preparing to travel to fight for a terrorist organisation, contact the National Security Hotline on 1800 123 400.
