An Israeli parliamentary committee narrowly approved on Monday the extension of emergency powers to summon reservists, authorizing the military to call up as many as 430,000 soldiers as the war in Gaza intensifies.
The Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee voted 8–7 in favor of the measure, after the coalition failed to secure a majority last week. The order replaces one that expired in May and will remain in force until September 4. Although the authorization covers hundreds of thousands, far fewer are expected to be mobilized.
The vote came amid mounting political tension over long-standing exemptions for Orthodox Jewish men. Opposition lawmakers accused the government of exhausting reservists who have already served months in uniform while continuing to shield Haredi yeshiva students from conscription.
The issue of Haredi exemptions has become a central fault line within the coalition. In July, senior Likud MK Yuli Edelstein was removed as committee chair after refusing to advance a bill enshrining the exemption into law. On Monday, Edelstein was absent again, his seat filled by Likud lawmaker Tally Gotliv, who voted with the government.
Haredi parties, which recently quit the coalition after it failed to pass the exemption bill, did not participate in the vote.
