Beginning Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces will cut thousands of reserve soldier positions assigned to territorial defense missions in communities along confrontation lines and in Judea and Samaria.
The military says the move follows a directive from the political leadership, first reported by ynet, ordering a reduction of 20,000 reservists planned for the coming year, lowering the force from 60,000 to 40,000.
In addition, the IDF is expected to scale back reserve soldiers in other units, including command staffs of combat and home front formations, in the coming days. Another consequence of the one-third cut to manpower planned for 2026 will be an increased burden on those remaining in service, who have been summoned for duty periods with fewer leave days.
ynet has also learned that despite an earlier understanding between the IDF and the Finance Ministry, reserve call-ups will continue as of Thursday under emergency Order 8 rather than regular call-up notices.
About two months ago, the sides agreed on a temporary government directive or an amendment to the Reserve Service Law, to be adapted to the security situation since October 7. However, due to renewed disputes that surfaced in recent days and opposition from the attorney general’s office, the change has not yet been implemented.
The result is that tens of thousands of reserve combat soldiers will continue to be summoned under Order 8, which is intended for emergency situations, often with short notice, under conditions that are less favorable to individuals and at higher budgetary cost.
The government recently approved in the Knesset an extension of Order 8 call-ups for hundreds of thousands of reservists for an additional period, even though the war ended about two and a half months ago. In response, an IDF spokesperson said that in line with political leadership guidance to adjust the manpower framework to about 40,000 reservists, the military is implementing necessary adjustments across all branches and formations. “Among other measures, reductions will be made to territorial defense positions and in additional areas currently under review,” the spokesperson said, adding that the IDF continues to act to maintain full operational readiness and protect the security of Israel’s citizens.
Regarding Order 8 call-ups since the start of the war, the spokesperson said the IDF operates according to an operational activity curve under which reservists are summoned via Order 8, and that this is also expected to continue in 2026. The decision and the number of call-ups vary and are adjusted according to operational needs, based on IDF recommendations and political leadership decisions.
Military officials added that under routine conditions, the Reserve Service Law sets the number of reserve service days for a three-year period and for operational deployments. Every few weeks, they said, an operational review is conducted by IDF officials and presented to political leaders and to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
“Based on the operational need that emerges from the review, a change is requested to the number of Order 8 positions for a limited period of time,” the officials said, noting that additional details on the Reserve Service Law are available on the IDF reserves website.