Israeli army used 30 years’ worth of ammunition in under 3 years of war - report

The Israeli army has used as much ammunition in less than three years of war as it did over the previous three decades, the Israeli newspaper Maariv reported Sunday, pointing to mounting strain on its personnel, equipment and finances.

Israeli Air Force activity during the period was also equivalent to roughly nine years of operations under normal conditions, while tanks and armored personnel carriers have gone through thousands of engines, the newspaper said.

Maariv said military hardware could be replaced or repaired but warned that the toll on personnel was far harder to reverse.

The army alone, excluding other Israeli security agencies, has lost 1,138 personnel, while 11,730 others have been recognized as suffering physical or psychological injuries, according to the report.

The newspaper said thousands more suffering psychological trauma could eventually be added to the figures.

Signs of strain are also emerging among career soldiers, with a significant number offered command positions opting instead for less demanding rear roles or leaving military service altogether, it said.

The army is meanwhile keeping an average of 53,000 reservists on active duty each day.

Maariv said a single month of reserve service last year cost around 2.1 billion shekels ($703 million), equivalent to the price of seven F-35 fighter jets or 70 Merkava tanks.

Israeli forces are currently deployed across what the newspaper described as three "security belts" in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, in addition to the occupied West Bank, which it said consumes the largest share of military manpower.

Five Israeli battalions are deployed along the so-called yellow line in Gaza, covering roughly 60% of the enclave, alongside two reinforced battalions on the border and additional readiness and regional defense forces.

Maariv questioned the sustainability of such a large deployment, saying it places a heavy financial and personnel burden on the army.

The newspaper also raised concerns over the future of US military assistance to Israel, noting that the current agreement expires in 2028 after providing roughly $33 billion over the past decade.

It criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for signaling that Israel would seek only about half the value of the existing package in a future deal, saying senior Israeli officials had previously believed the Trump administration was prepared to approve another 10-year agreement on a similar scale.

Maariv added that the army would eventually have to reduce the scale of its deployments, both to conserve resources and preserve its personnel.