By Fatih Semsettin Isik
The Israeli army is one of the world's largest arms exporters that receives substantial support from Western nations, both financially and politically.
The United States alone gives at least $4 billion annually in military aid to Tel Aviv.
Germany's military exports including armoured vehicles and communication tools amounted to $323 million in 2023. France sold $226 million worth of military equipment over the past decade, while Canada authorised $21 million in new military exports to Israel following the October 2023 Hamas attacks.
However, Israel’s disproportionate use of power against Palestinian civilians and failure to achieve the goal of rescuing all Israeli hostages have raised questions about the effectiveness and reliability of this heavily supported military force that is now planning to open a new front on its northern border with Lebanon.
It has been more than eight months since Israel launched the brutal war on Gaza yet it still hasn’t been able to attain even its most talked-about and publicised objective: the eradication of Hamas.
The Palestinian resistance group, alongside other groups, is still operating in the enclave. It regularly carries out lethal ambushes against the Israeli forces and shares the videos from these incursions on social media.
Since 2006, following the Second Israel-Lebanon War, the Israeli army has faced scrutiny from both its supporters and critics, both domestically and internationally.
Not only has it been accused of committing massacres and garnered lasting disrepute as an army of “child murderers" in the eyes of the global community.
It has also been deemed incompetent by those few, who still regard it as a so-called “legitimate actor”.
Further compounding these issues, a series of internal and external assessments have painted a deeply grim picture of the Israeli forces.
For instance, a 2006 report by the RAND Corporation highlighted significant operational and strategic deficiencies, raising questions about the preparedness and effectiveness of Israel's military. These concerns were echoed in a secret dossier revealed in 2018, which warned that the Israeli forces were unprepared for potential large-scale conflicts. The findings pointed to systemic issues, including inadequate training and logistical support.
With the shock that they came across after October 7 and Hamas’ operational capabilities, the “superiority illusion” was suddenly torn apart and forced the Israelis to act with brutality not seen before, in an effort to cover the loss of prestige in the eyes of Israelis and governments who support them.
Today, these troubles have shown that it is time to change the perception of the Israeli army in the region and the rest of the world.
The myth of the Israeli military’s invincibility has been shattered, revealing deep vulnerabilities that have long been masked by aggressive rhetoric and propaganda. A fundamental reassessment is needed to address the systemic flaws within the Israeli military's credibility.
Logistical deficiencies
The war in Gaza revealed the deficiencies in the Israeli army in terms of logistics, strategy and the security concept in general.
When the war started on October 7, Israel constructed a discourse of “existential threat” which is also related to the shock that emerged after its borders were easily crossed by the Palestinian fighters for the first time since 1948.
There was ample evidence that Tel Aviv has fallen victim to its own illusion of superiority. Even since the initial stages of the war, the logistical and equipment problems of the Israeli army have been widely debated in local media.
The debates proved that such problems have become chronic, even to the extent that the army decided to open a Whatsapp hotline to address “many complaints about the lack of equipment in the reserve units.”
In addition, donation campaigns have reportedly been carried out for the deliveries of basic equipment such as “portable chargers, underwear, hygiene products and toiletries”. Although the Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari denied such a dire situation, the Israeli media reported that the soldiers are sent to Gaza even without “water bottles”.
A recent interview with Israeli soldiers in Gaza’s Jabalia has revealed that the Israeli army is facing deep-rooted and systemic issues that go far beyond logistics, extending into critical areas such as combat training.
According to Haaretz, new conscripts were deployed to Gaza with minimal training, putting them at a severe disadvantage in combat situations, which reflects a neglect of fundamental military standards.
The Israeli army currently seems to have a strategic myopia by overemphasis on tactical gains at the expense of long-term planning in Gaza.
In addition, army morale is deteriorating, as evidenced by the increasing number of reservists abstaining from service. A recent report underscores this growing disillusionment, with many reservists expressing profound dissatisfaction with their roles and the current state of the military, which followed a long-standing dissatisfaction with the current far-right and fundamentalist Israeli government.
Yitzhak Brik, the former ombudsman of the Israeli army, who penned the 2018 report, had also reiterated this concern just two months before war broke out on October 7.
Disciplinary problems
Not only are the Israeli military forces accused of killing civilians and committing war crimes, but there is also a significant degree of disorder within their ranks.
Reports have highlighted a disturbing trend of misconduct among soldiers.
According to The Intercept, the Israeli military has attempted to control the narrative around these offensives by obscuring instances of improper conduct. The Israeli Military Censor, a military intelligence unit, even informed the media that reporting on certain issues is forbidden without prior approval.
These include embarrassing revelations about how Hamas used weapons captured from the Israeli soldiers, discussions of security cabinet meetings, and the Israeli hostages in Gaza — an issue that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been criticised for mishandling.
In parallel, Israel's top military lawyer had to issue warnings to troops regarding their behaviour in Gaza, signalling a breakdown in discipline and the need for adherence to international law after widespread reports of looting and vandalism by Israeli soldiers.
In this regard, soldiers have filmed themselves vandalising Palestinian property and, in some cases, put those videos online. “I think everyone in our platoon took a coffee set,” said one Israeli sergeant in Gaza in an interview conducted by The Economist. According to the Palestinian Government Media Office in the enclave, at least $25 million in cash, gold and valuables was looted in the first three months of the war.
The politicisation of the military
One of the major factors contributing to the Israeli military's loss of competence is its excessive involvement with the media and its transformation into a political actor. This overexposure has not only tarnished its image but also revealed its vulnerabilities.
According to a Ynet report, the Israeli army has openly disclosed its economic difficulties, outlining its needs in a manner that exposes its operational limitations. This transparency, while seemingly strategic, has inadvertently highlighted the army's dependency and inadequacies.
Moreover, the Israeli military's approach to social media has further undermined its seriousness and credibility. The Times of Israel reports that the army has employed a snarky, humorous tone in its social media communications, ostensibly to bolster its legitimacy. However, this approach has often been seen as immature and unprofessional, reducing the gravity of its public engagements to mere political theatrics.
Most critically, the army has been at the centre of the self-serving rivalries and narrow vision of Israel’s political leaders. Retired members of the army have been particularly vocal about this issue, reserving fiercest criticism for Netanyahu.
They assert that Netanyahu has been manipulating military operations to serve his political interests, aiming to satisfy his nationalist base and prevent far-right parties from abandoning his government. Many serving generals echo this sentiment, believing that the politicisation of military operations has significantly compromised the army's effectiveness and integrity.
It is imperative for Western nations to reconsider their extensive support to the Israeli army due to significant operational and ethical failings. The Israeli military, despite receiving substantial financial aid and arms exports from countries like the US, UK, Germany, and France, has demonstrated severe logistical, strategic, and disciplinary shortcomings in Gaza, manifesting itself as one of the worst “investments” in world history.
Thus, a comprehensive reassessment of this support is essential to address systemic issues before the region's security gets out of control due to this army of failures.
Fatih Semsettin Isik is a deputy researcher at the TRT World Research Centre. Before that, he worked as a research assistant and social media coordinator at Al Sharq Forum. He has a Bachelor's of Political Science from Bilkent University and Master's degrees in the same field from Istanbul Sehir University and Central European University. His research interests include Israeli politics, EU-Middle East Relations, Turkish Politics and the role of diasporas in foreign affairs.
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