It’s been in the news almost every day, and many of us are inured to it by now. But for Israelis, the reality of the country’s seven-front war brings something new every day—whether it’s the death of another Israel Defense Forces reservist caught up in the explosion of a booby-trapped building in Gaza or another round of Hezbollah missiles damaging homes, factories and farms.
Now, after Israel’s recent elimination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, the alleged “beeper attack” and the elimination of dozens of top Hezbollah terrorists, the war in the north is coming to a head. Hezbollah rocket fire has increased, and so have Israel’s military operations in Southern Lebanon. The military recently announced the likely need to expand operations even further in Lebanon.
The bottom line is that the war is nowhere near over and is perhaps entering its most critical phase yet. This means that support for Israeli soldiers is now as crucial as it has ever been. Maybe even more so, as after nearly a year of fighting, equipment stores are far lower than they were at the beginning of the war, and as the IDF extends its ground operation in Lebanon, the shortages of even basic equipment are already showing themselves.
If there is ever a time that Israel, and especially the IDF, needed our help, it is at this critical juncture. My organization, Operation Israel, which provides all kinds of equipment except for weapons, has seen the number of monthly requests for equipment triple since September.
Soldiers have increasingly been requesting things like drones, as well as special surveillance cameras, which help them more easily observe the uneven topography of northern Israel. There have also been growing requests for electric generators and solar power stations to help charge and run these cameras, drones and other surveillance equipment. And with winter coming up, soldiers are already requesting warm clothing that can stand up to the wind and rain that characterize the north.
That equipment is crucial to the war effort—and to saving lives. In one such instance, a soldier had received a new AI camera system via Operation Israel, and, using the camera, the soldier saw that a terrorist was trying to attach a bomb to the bottom of his tank. The soldiers were able to neutralize the terrorist and the bomb before he could do any damage. In yet another example, soldiers utilized a drone-extension kit, which enables drones to fly further and longer, allowing it to be used in an area where officials knew explosives were being stored. Without the extension kit, which was procured with help from our donors, soldiers would likely have had to enter the area on foot—exposing them to hidden terrorists and risking a life-threatening firefight.
With the war entering a critical stage and tens of thousands of reserve soldiers called up to fight Hezbollah, volunteer organizations like ours are going to have to redouble their efforts. We need to make sure that every tank has enough cameras to detect danger and keep our soldiers safe. We need to make sure every unit can use drones when needed, sparing soldiers from entering booby-trapped buildings. These are life-saving measures, and with adequate funding, are possible to deploy as widely as necessary.
And it’s not just soldiers; the role of civilian-defense teams is also growing. These dedicated teams are not only on higher alert now but could see their role increase even more as Hezbollah attacks increase and as frontline needs could take more soldiers away from the home front. These civilian teams, as we saw on Oct. 7, are critical to protecting local communities. But they, too, are suffering from a lack of equipment among growing needs.
Yes, the war has been going on for a long time—too long for most of us. But the needs are as great as they ever were—and are growing. If there was ever a time to rally to Israel’s defense, this is it.
