(MENAFN) Hundreds of career Israeli soldiers, including high-ranking officers, have filed requests for early retirement, intensifying the army’s manpower challenges as it contends with personnel shortages during its ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip, according to local media reports on Wednesday.

A newspaper reported that representatives from the army’s Personnel Administration informed the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that roughly 600 career personnel—including senior officers and professional non-commissioned officers—have sought to effectively “resign” ahead of schedule.

A military official explained to lawmakers, “There were those whose retirement we postponed throughout the war (in Gaza) because of their necessity, simply because there are no replacements for them.”

Officials also noted that 85% of career soldiers retire “at the rank of lieutenant colonel or below.”

Bar Kalifa, an Israeli army official who addressed the committee, attributed the escalating crisis to the Supreme Court’s recent decision overturning pension supplements for career officers.

He further highlighted “the broader issue of the IDF’s (army) manpower shortage amid the ongoing exemption from military service for ultra-Orthodox Jews” at a moment when troops “began maneuvering in Gaza City.”

Kalifa added that the army “needs another 12,000 soldiers.”

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