Israel's Gaza City push faces dissent as some reservists refuse call-up

Since completing nearly three months of deployment in Lebanon during Israel’s war with Hizbollah, Israeli reservist Natan Ruchansky has refused a fresh call-up order for Gaza, declaring himself a conscientious objector.

The 36-year-old film director and father of two was summoned before a military disciplinary panel on Thursday, removed from his battalion and stripped of combat duties.

His refusal places him among a small but vocal minority of reservists opposed to Israel’s continued offensives in Gaza.

“We see the insane international damage it causes, the economic damage, the mental and physical harm to many of our friends among the reservists and regular conscripts,” Ruchansky told AFP in an interview.

While serving remained “part of my identity”, he argued that the nearly two-year-old war in Gaza has “no connection to defending our country” whose safety is of utmost importance to him.

Israel has intensified operations in Gaza City, the Palestinian territory’s biggest urban centre, despite mounting pressure at home and abroad to end the wider campaign.

Israeli media have reported that around 40,000 reservists were being mobilised in the first wave.

Commanders often accept reservists stepping back due to the toll prolonged fighting takes on their health, families and livelihoods.

But declared conscientious objection is rare and can in a few isolated cases lead to jail terms.

Ruchansky is part of “Soldiers for the Hostages,” a 400-member group formed in May 2024 over concerns for hostages held in Rafah in southern Gaza after Israel invaded the area.

The group held its first public event in Tel Aviv on Tuesday to call on reservists and active-duty troops to defy conscription orders.

“As IDF veterans who served in this war and care for the future of our country, it is our patriotic duty to refuse to take part in this war,” Max Kresch, a sergeant and combat medic, said at the news conference.

The group has moved to expand its activities beyond social media for the first time in response to the announcement of the Gaza City offensive.

“We are the same reservists and soldiers who dropped everything on October 7 and rushed to the fronts,” said Kresch, referring to the Hamas-led attack in 2023 which sparked the Gaza war.

“It is precisely from that same sense of duty that we are driven to refuse, and to use our voices loudly to resist (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu’s attempts to sacrifice everything for his own political survival,” he added.

The activists know their numbers remain small, but say their goal for now is to reach out to soldiers who question the purpose of continuing the war.

Agence France-Presse