By Zein Khalil
JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli army admitted Monday that it is suffering a shortage of tanks and ammunition amid its ongoing deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip.
The army said in filings to Israel's Supreme Court that many of its tanks were damaged during the Gaza war and that its ammunition was in short supply, Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported.
The admission was made in response to a petition demanding the incorporation of women fighters into the army's Armored Corps.
"The number of operational tanks in the corps is insufficient for the needs of the war and for conducting experiments of the deployment of women," the newspaper said, citing the court filing.
According to the report, army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi decided to delay incorporating women in fighting positions until November 2025 due to the severe shortage.
At least 682 Israeli soldiers have been killed and more than 4,100 others injured since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict on Oct. 7, 2023, according to military figures.
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.
Nearly 38,700 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 89,000 injured, according to local health authorities.
Over nine months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.
*Writing by Ahmed Asmar