🎯 SOUTHERN LEBANON | HEZBOLLAH OPERATIVE ELIMINATED: Earlier today, following intelligence gathered over recent months, IDF troops eliminated a Hezbollah terrorist in the Ayta ash-Shab area of southern Lebanon. The military says the operative had recently been gathering intelligence on IDF forces and working to rehabilitate Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in the area.
💥 GAZA | AIRSTRIKE REPORTED AFTER TUNNEL ATTACK: Gazan media reported two dead and several wounded in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City. The IDF has not commented on the reports.
The report came after gunmen emerged from a tunnel and attacked IDF troops earlier today in southern Gaza’s Rafah area.
🪖 IDF | RESERVE FORCE REDUCTIONS AND POLICY CHANGES: The IDF is reducing reserve force usage following a government directive to cap the number of reservists serving in 2026. At the peak of the war, approximately 300,000 reservists were mobilized, while earlier plans projected around 60,000 for routine service this year.
Under a December budget agreement between Defense Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the number of reservists serving simultaneously will be capped at about 40,000, a move intended to save billions of shekels. Routine reserve service will be reduced from 72 days to 55 days, while benefits for extended service will remain and begin after 45 days.
The reforms follow Finance Ministry criticism over inefficiency and the cost of high mobilization levels. The IDF is ending several wartime practices introduced after October 7, 2023, including recruiting reservists via social media in favor of official channels and halting “hybrid service” that combined military duty with civilian work schedules due to its impact on unit cohesion.
The military is also scaling back roles deemed non-essential, including some headquarters positions and certain full-time reserve reinforcement of civilian defense squads in border communities. The war’s direct cost is estimated at approximately NIS 220 billion, with roughly NIS 50–70 billion attributed to extended reserve mobilization.
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