Israel’s war on multiple fronts has not only weakened its enemies. It not only claimed the lives of thousands of civilians in Gaza and Lebanon. It also continues to demand prices from its own employees.

Israel’s war weariness is growing. The recent ceasefire agreement with Lebanon will bring relief to many. Especially Noam Glukhovsky, an IDF reservist who has spent much of the past year on the front lines as a medic.

We spoke to Noam, 33, in Tel Aviv before the ceasefire was announced. “We cannot let this war go on for too long. Without a clear end date and goals, we don’t have the manpower to continue,” he said.

As an IDF reservist, Noem typically expected to serve in the military for a few weeks each year. But last year he spent 250 days in uniform. The war, he said, separated him from the life he knew. His plans to become a doctor were also postponed for a year.

When we met, Norm was trying to catch up on his studies while also waiting to see if he would be called up again. His mood was defiant.

“I can’t put my life on hold anymore,” he said. He said he would not return to the army unless there was a significant change in the direction of the war. He’s had enough.

The Israel Defense Forces has acknowledged that fewer reservists are now reporting for duty. More than 300,000 reservists responded after Hamas launched an attack on October 7 last year that killed about 1,200 people. The turnout was over 100%. It has now dropped to 85%. Noem estimates that among his troops, the response is even lower — about 60 percent of draftees are now reporting for duty.

Reserves and conscripts are the lifeblood of the Israel Defense Forces. Brigadier General Ariel Heimann, also a reservist and former chief reservist, said Israel is too small a country to have a large, expensive, professional regular army. He said the IDF would not be able to fight or survive without reservists.

According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Israel Defense Forces has 170,000 active personnel, including conscripts, and 465,000 reservists.

Brigadier General Hyman acknowledged that the IDF’s reliance on reserves will become more challenging the longer the war drags on. He likened the IDF to a spring – one that breaks if it is stretched too far. For now, he says he can handle it.

But in a sign of pressure, the Israel Defense Forces wants to extend the mandatory military service for male conscripts from 32 to 36 months.

The fact that the burden of services is not shared by all also adds to dissatisfaction. For decades, one group has been exempt from military service—thousands of Orthodox or ultra-Orthodox Jews. They believed that young people’s lives should be devoted to religious studies rather than military service.

The issue has divided Israel’s coalition government. However, following the intervention of the Attorney General, recruitment documents were sent to 7,000 Orthodox Jewish men. They responded with angry protests. But Brigadier General Heyman, like ousted former defense secretary Yove Galante, said they had a “moral duty to serve”.

This requires not only personal sacrifice, but also financial sacrifice.

Israel’s central bank said in May that the cost of Israel’s war could reach $70bn (£55bn) by the end of next year, an estimate made before the country’s ground invasion of Lebanon. Small businesses are among the hardest hit.

Shelly Lotan’s food tech startup is one of many struggling to survive. Shirley has already had to move her business away from northern Israel to avoid Hezbollah rocket attacks. Two of her seven employees have been drafted into the Army.

On the morning we meet, at her home in Tel Aviv, Shirley has just received more bad news. She received a text message from a subordinate who was about to extend his military service.

“I can’t express how serious it is to have another employee miss another month,” Shirley said.

“I can’t even hire someone else or address that gap.”

Shirley also had to juggle family life with three young children. Her husband is also a reservist and has to be away from home for long periods of time.

A ceasefire in Lebanon could ease some pressure. But fighting continues in Gaza. Shelly Lotan worries about the future of the Israeli government without a clear strategy to end the conflict.

“I think the war should be over by now,” she said.