Israeli soldiers, their mothers, reject calls to return to Gaza

Tel Aviv: As Israel calls up tens of thousands of reservists for its invasion of Gaza City, a growing number of soldiers — and their mothers — are saying no.

There are no official figures, but newly formed groups are broadcasting their refusal to serve despite the risk of imprisonment. It’s a new phenomenon in the nearly two-year war sparked by Hamas’ Oct 7, 2023, attack, though so far it has had no apparent effect on military operations.

The defiance is emerging as Israelis have joined mass protests accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of prolonging the war for political purposes instead of reaching a deal with Hamas to bring back the remaining 48 hostages, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

Many opponents, including former senior security officials, fear that the latest offensive will achieve little and put the hostages at risk. Israel also faces heavy international criticism over the humanitarian catastrophe unleashed by the war and its blockade.

One group calling on soldiers to refuse to serve is comprised of mothers who fear their sons will die in vain.

“I couldn’t stop thinking of how to break his leg, break his arm, wound him in some way that he won’t be able to go back,” Noorit Felsenthal-Berger said as she wiped tears from her cheeks, terrified her youngest son will be forced to return.

Avshalom Zohar Sal, a 28-year-old soldier and medic who served multiple tours in Gaza, said soldiers are exhausted, demoralised and no longer know what they are fighting for.

His doubts first surfaced last year, when he was serving in an area near where six hostages were later killed by their captors as Israeli troops closed in. “I felt this was my fault,” he said.

His scepticism deepened during his most recent tour, in June, when he saw troops returning to the same areas where they had fought earlier in the war. He said some soldiers seemed less focused, leaving them vulnerable to attacks from a vastly diminished but still lethal Hamas.

“Don’t put me in the position that I need to decide if I’m going to risk again my life,” he said, addressing the military.

A group known as Soldiers for Hostages says it represents more than 360 soldiers who refuse to serve. While the number remains small, it is a contrast from the early days of the war, when reservists rushed for duty in the wake of the Oct 7 attack. Such refusal is punishable by imprisonment, but that has only happened in a handful of cases.

“Netanyahu’s ongoing war of aggression needlessly puts our own hostages in danger and has wreaked havoc on the fabric of Israeli society, while at the same time killing, maiming and starving an entire population” of civilians in Gaza, Max Kresch, a member of the group, said at a Sept 2 news conference.

Another group known as Save Our Souls, or SOS, says it represents nearly 1,000 mothers of soldiers. A similar movement was credited with helping to end Israel’s 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon in 2000.