Manpower Crisis Casts a Shadow Over the “Israeli” Navy

By Staff, Agencies

The military correspondent for "Haaretz", Yaniv Kubovich, reported that officials in the security establishment believe the “Israeli” Navy’s operational doctrine requires adjustments in light of developments in the region, particularly those involving Turkey.

He wrote: “Since the outbreak of the war, the Navy has found itself facing an unprecedentedly complex operational reality. While a tight naval blockade has been imposed on the Gaza Strip and Hamas’s naval capabilities have been almost completely eliminated, ongoing activity on this front, together with the northern and Red Sea arenas, is causing growing concern.

“Alongside regional developments, however, the Navy’s main challenge comes from within. The continued operations of its forces on all fronts since the beginning of the war have created an unprecedented manpower crisis. Naval officers and ship crews are embarking on lengthy deployments lasting for months. These deployments involve strenuous physical work, as well as complete separation from their families, and they are given only a short period of respite once a month.”

He continued: “The operational burden is also exacting a heavy toll among the command ranks. The Navy currently acknowledges that only about 40% of the male and female officers it wants to retain choose to continue their service and transition to permanent service. The rest prefer to leave, either because of exhaustion or because of attractive job offers in the civilian market and defense industries.

“In addition to naval officers, the branch is also struggling to retain engineers, specialists, and skilled professionals within its ranks.”

According to "Haaretz’s" military correspondent, the Navy’s operational structure relies heavily on women serving in key positions. This follows the large-scale recruitment of female combat soldiers and female naval officers, who make up a significant portion of the personnel aboard its ships.
Although women’s motivation to serve in combat roles remains high, this trend is not entirely secure. The proportion of female officers choosing to leave and not pursue long-term permanent service is currently similar to that of male officers who choose to leave. These figures are raising complex questions for the Navy’s leadership about how to maintain the quality of its personnel.

Despite the increase in troop numbers since the fighting began, the Navy remains a relatively small branch and does not provide a response to all missions in the near and distant maritime domains. To bridge the gap, naval officials are seeking to significantly expand the fleet of unmanned vessels.

At the same time, the “Israeli” military stresses the critical importance of the regional ties that emerged following the Abraham Accords, describing them as a vital strategic asset that must be carefully nurtured and protected from incidents that could put them at risk, according to the "Haaretz" military correspondent’s report.

The Turkish Front, the Gulf, and the Red Sea

According to Yaniv Kubovich, until just three years ago, the possibility of a naval blockade being imposed on “Israel” was not considered a tangible threat. “Israel’s” traditional enemies, including Hamas and Hezbollah, did not possess naval capabilities capable of challenging the Navy’s superiority. However, the “Israeli” military understands that it must prepare for a scenario in which other actors in the region attempt to challenge “Israel’s” maritime access.

At this stage, there is no intelligence indicating, nor any declared intention of, imposing a naval blockade on the port of Haifa. But after three years of war, amid escalating rhetoric between the leaders of regional countries and the erosion of “Israel’s” international standing, security officials understand that such scenarios cannot be ruled out altogether.

According to the correspondent, Turkey is receiving most of the attention. The "Israeli" military is wary of defining Turkey as an enemy state or viewing it as a direct military threat. The official term chosen to describe the situation is “security shift.” The concern within the security establishment is that if the deterioration in diplomatic relations continues, and if statements by the Erdogan government toward “Israel” become increasingly hostile, Turkey could eventually be regarded as a tangible security threat.

However, the security establishment openly acknowledges that if a powerful navy such as the Turkish Navy were to be tasked with imposing a naval blockade on "Israel" on its own, the “Israeli” Navy would presumably be unable to provide a full response.

The correspondent noted that the Turkish fleet is currently considered one of the strongest and most advanced naval forces in the Mediterranean and Balkan regions. Over the past decade, the Turkish Navy has undergone a comprehensive modernization process, relying largely on an independent domestic defense industry, and now possesses hundreds of naval vessels. All of this presents a challenge to the “Israeli” Navy, which was not designed to respond to a fleet of such size.

He also noted that Iran’s actions in the Gulf have highlighted the complexity of the maritime arena. The security leadership was surprised by the ease with which Tehran managed to disrupt maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.

For years, intelligence assessments had assumed that Iran would take such a step only as a last resort in the face of an existential threat. In practice, however, the Iranians demonstrated that they can impose an effective blockade using shore-based weapons systems, without any need to deploy a large-scale naval fleet.

Another challenging front, the correspondent concluded, is the Red Sea. The short distance between Aqaba and Eilat—only about four kilometers—means there is virtually no response time in an emergency.

To prepare for such a threat, the Navy has integrated specialized capabilities into the area, alongside the accelerated development of ship-based air defense systems. However, the “Israeli” military acknowledges that it will take more time for these interception capabilities to reach their full potential.