What’s behind reports that the Israeli army is low on troops, equipment?

Israel’s Channel 12 and Maariv newspaper claim the military is facing ‘severe shortages’ and lost a planned purchase of 12 Apache attack helicopters from the US.

An Israeli soldier takes position at al-Ein refugee camp during a military operation west of the occupied West Bank city of Nablus [Alaa Badarneh/EPA]

In recent days, Israeli media reports have claimed the military is running low on certain equipment and troops.

On Tuesday, Israel’s Channel 12 said the army had lost a planned purchase of 12 Apache attack helicopters from United States manufacturer Boeing.

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The newspaper Maariv then reported on Friday that, on top of “severe” shortages, the Israeli military is preparing to suspend soldiers’ leave.

But is one of the world’s most heavily financed armed forces, which has received billions of US dollars from the US in recent years, really struggling with shortages?

What has Israeli media reported?

Israeli newspaper Maariv reported: “The Israeli army does not have enough tanks and armoured personnel carriers,” adding that three years of war had worn down vehicles while hundreds have been damaged.

“For political reasons, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich can cut funding to the Israeli army and busy himself with complaints, while the opposition is preoccupied with internal struggles like reckless children,” the newspaper wrote.

Channel 12 reported that the planned purchase of a dozen Apache attack helicopters from Boeing failed to take place because of a shortfall in the army’s procurement budget.

The report came a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed during a routine meeting to persuade opposition leader Yair Lapid to cooperate on increasing the military procurement budget.

Channel 12 said the army was already warning that unless the requested funding increase arrives soon, efforts to return tanks and armoured personnel carriers damaged during the war to service capability would cease, while some ammunition production lines would also be affected.

Are these reports reliable?

Israel’s military is unlikely to be suffering from any real shortages, defence analyst Hamze Attar told Al Jazeera, adding that reports like this are part of a longstanding strategy to “over-exaggerate shortages to speed up replacements”.

According to Attar, the Israeli military operates with a policy of such extreme surplus that while other nations might consider a stockpile “combat ready”, Israel would view the same level as “critically low” as it aims to continue wars on multiple fronts without being restrained by external political pressure.

He said “leaked reports” often play favourably to Israel’s military by creating a sense of urgency in Washington and Europe to speed up weapons transfers.

He added that there is a perception in Israel of an increasing “change of hearts and minds” in the US when it comes to its support, and Israel is therefore looking to accelerate deals before any potential future policy shifts.

He used the example of recent reports that US President Donald Trump’s administration is preparing to sell 60,000 highly destructive, 2,000lb (907kg) bombs to Israel in a multibillion-dollar package.

What weapon stockpiles and troop numbers does Israel have?

Israel doesn’t publish munitions inventories, so estimates about its weapons stockpiles come from a mix of leaks, think-tank estimates, and official denials.

Troop numbers are better documented.

According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Military Balance in 2023, Israel had 169,500 active military personnel in the army, navy and paramilitary.

A further 465,000 were serving in the reserves, while 8,000 served in the paramilitary.

Military service is mandatory from age 18 for most Jewish, Druze and Circassian Israelis, while most Palestinian Arab citizens aren’t drafted.

Men currently serve 32 months under a temporary law passed in July 2026 that reverts to 30 months in 2029, while women serve 24 months, with some roles requiring longer.

The military Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir has repeatedly urged the Israeli government to extend mandatory military service for men to 36 months.

The push to enlist Ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) men does suggest Israel has been looking to boost the number of reservists amid almost three years of war.

Ultra-Orthodox men enrolled in full-time religious study had been exempt from military service since the state of Israel was created in 1948.

Israel’s High Court of Justice ruled this illegal in 1998, and repeatedly struck down a series of temporary measures intended to defer Haredi recruitment.

In 2024, the High Court again intervened, ordering the government to finally break the deadlock and begin actively conscripting ultra-Orthodox men.

In response, the military issued tens of thousands of draft notices to Haredi Jews, but compliance has remained minimal.

According to a testimony presented to the Knesset in July 2025, only 1,200 ultra-Orthodox recruits responded to the roughly 24,000 summons issued.

Smoke from an explosion can be seen after an Israeli attack on July 12, 2026, in Gaza City, Gaza [Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images]

Does Israel need more weapons for its wars in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran?

Over the past three years, the Israeli military has waged wars across the region, including on the besieged Gaza Strip , where it began launching strikes in October 2023 in response to the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7, and continues in different forms.

Israel is also fighting wars in Lebanon and Iran, alongside continuing military attacks in the occupied West Bank and Syria.

Attar said Israel appears to have enough stockpiles to maintain the current status quo in these conflicts.

However, given its history of military expansionism and recent rhetoric towards countries such as Turkiye, it is likely that Israel is “preparing for its next round of war with new enemies”, he said, adding that this will require more weapons.

以色列第 12 频道和《Maariv》报纸声称，军方正面临“严重短缺”，并且失去了从美国购买 12 架阿帕奇攻击直升机的计划。

在被占领的约旦河西岸城市纳布卢斯以西的艾因难民营，一名以色列士兵正在执行军事行动。[Alaa Badarneh/EPA]

近日，以色列媒体报道称，以色列军方某些装备和兵力短缺。

周二，以色列第 12 频道报道称，以色列军方未能完成从美国制造商波音公司购买 12 架阿帕奇攻击直升机的计划。

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（共4条记录，此为第3条）黎巴嫩南部，以色列军队推进时，炮击造成两人受伤

英国法院裁定一名女子在大学演讲中公开支持哈马斯的指控不成立（共4条，此为第4条）

《Maariv》报周五报道称，除了“严重”的物资短缺外，以色列军方正准备暂停士兵休假。

但是，作为世界上经费最充足的武装力量之一，近年来从美国获得了数十亿美元的援助，这支军队真的面临物资短缺的困境吗？

以色列媒体报道了什么？

以色列报纸《Maariv》报道称：“以色列军队没有足够的坦克和装甲运兵车”，并补充说，三年的战争已经损耗了大量车辆，数百辆车辆遭到损坏。

该报写道：“出于政治原因，财政部长贝扎莱尔·斯莫特里奇可以削减以色列军队的资金，并忙于应对各种抱怨，而反对派却像鲁莽的孩子一样忙于内部斗争。”

第 12 频道报道称，由于陆军采购预算不足，原计划从波音公司购买 12 架阿帕奇攻击直升机的计划未能实现。

这份报告发布的前一天，总理本杰明·内塔尼亚胡在一次例行会议上未能说服反对派领导人亚伊尔·拉皮德在增加军事采购预算方面进行合作。

第 12 频道报道称，军方已经发出警告，除非尽快获得所需的资金增加，否则将停止修复战争中受损的坦克和装甲运兵车，使其恢复服役能力，一些弹药生产线也将受到影响。

这些报告可靠吗？

国防分析师哈姆泽·阿塔尔告诉半岛电视台，以色列军队不太可能面临任何真正的短缺，并补充说，此类报道是长期以来“夸大短缺以加快替换速度”策略的一部分。

阿塔尔表示，以色列军队奉行极端的超额物资政策，其他国家可能会认为这种储备水平“随时可以作战”，但以色列却认为同样的水平“极低”，因为它旨在继续在多条战线上作战，而不受外部政治压力的约束。

他表示，“泄露的报告”往往有利于以色列军方，因为它们会在华盛顿和欧洲制造一种紧迫感，从而加快武器转让。

他还补充说，以色列方面普遍认为，美国在支持以色列问题上“态度和想法”正在发生越来越大的转变，因此以色列希望在未来政策发生任何潜在变化之前加快达成协议。

他以最近的报道为例，称美国总统唐纳德·特朗普的政府正准备向以色列出售价值数十亿美元的6万枚威力巨大的2000磅（907公斤）炸弹。

以色列拥有多少武器储备和军队人数？

以色列不公布军火库存，因此对其武器库存的估计来自泄露的信息、智库的估计和官方的否认等各种来源。

部队人数有更详细的记录。

根据国际战略研究所发布的《2023 年军事平衡报告》，以色列陆军、海军和准军事部队共有 169,500 名现役军人。

另有 46.5 万人服役于预备役部队，8000 人在准军事部队服役。

对于大多数犹太人、德鲁兹人和切尔克斯人以色列人来说，从 18 岁起必须服兵役，而大多数巴勒斯坦阿拉伯公民则无需服兵役。

根据 2026 年 7 月通过的一项临时法律，男性目前服役 32 个月，该法律将于 2029 年恢复为 30 个月；而女性服役 24 个月，有些职位需要更长的服役时间。

以色列国防军总参谋长埃亚尔·扎米尔多次敦促以色列政府将男性强制兵役期限延长至 36 个月。

以色列积极招募极端正统派（哈雷迪）男性，这表明在近三年的战争中，以色列一直在寻求增加预备役人员的数量。

自 1948 年以色列建国以来，参加全日制宗教学习的极端正统派男子一直免服兵役。

以色列最高法院于 1998 年裁定此举非法，并多次否决了一系列旨在推迟哈雷迪招募的临时措施。

2024 年，高等法院再次介入，命令政府最终打破僵局，开始积极征召极端正统派男子入伍。

作为回应，军方向哈雷迪犹太人发出了数万份征兵通知，但遵纪情况仍然很少。

根据 2025 年 7 月提交给以色列议会的一份证词，大约 24,000 份传票发出后，只有 1,200 名极端正统派新兵响应。

2026年7月12日，以色列袭击加沙地带加沙城后，爆炸产生的浓烟清晰可见。[Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images]

以色列是否需要更多武器来应对其在加沙、黎巴嫩和伊朗的战争？

过去三年，以色列军队在该地区发动了多场战争，包括在被围困的加沙地带。2023年10月，以色列军队开始对加沙地带发动空袭，以回应哈马斯领导的10月7日对以色列南部的袭击，此后战争以不同的形式继续进行。

以色列除了在黎巴嫩和伊朗作战外，还在被占领的约旦河西岸和叙利亚持续发动军事袭击。

阿塔尔表示，以色列似乎拥有足够的库存来维持这些冲突中的现状。

然而，鉴于以色列过往的军事扩张主义历史以及近期针对土耳其等国的言论，他表示，以色列很可能“正在为与新敌人的下一轮战争做准备”，并补充说，这将需要更多武器。