After nearly nine months of the Gaza War, the Israeli army admitted for the first time that it had lost many tanks in the war, revealing that it was suffering from a shortage of ammunition.

This admission came in an answer to the Israeli Supreme Court, on Monday, regarding the petition of female soldiers who requested to be allowed to serve in all Israeli army units, some of which are restricted to men only.

The army said in its response that the training program for female recruits in the Armored Corps, which was supposed to begin this year, has not yet begun, due to the shortage of tanks due to the Gaza war, among other reasons.

He pointed out that the failure to conduct the training was “due to the shortage of many tanks that were damaged in the war and the lack of ammunition,” according to the Israeli “Ynet” news site.

According to the Israeli army, the Army Chief of Staff “decided to postpone the experiment of integrating fighters into the armored maneuver system until November 2025, due to the significant shortage of ammunition and tanks that were damaged in the long fighting.”

This is the first time that the Israeli army has acknowledged the loss of tanks in the Gaza war, in addition to confirming that it suffers from a shortage of missiles, and that many soldiers and commanders were injured or killed in the battle.

The army’s response to the court stated: “There are several restrictions that will prevent the opening of the test next year, including the inefficiency of many tanks and a shortage of ammunition.”

He added: “Objective difficulties have arisen as a result of the fighting in the Gaza Strip and on other fronts, especially in the combat system of the Israeli army, where leadership and systematic attention are focused on combat.”

He continued: “During the war, many tanks were damaged, and they are currently out of order and not used for combat or training, and it is not expected that new tanks will be introduced into the Armored Corps soon. This means that the current range of tanks in the Armored Corps is insufficient, both for the war effort and for simultaneous testing. Accordingly, the range of ammunition and resources needed to maintain the vehicles is very limited, and the Israeli army is constantly working to expand it.

According to Israeli army data, 682 soldiers have been killed since the beginning of the war on October 7, including 326 soldiers in ground battles inside the Gaza Strip.

This number does not include dozens of members of the police and the General Security Agency (Shin Bet). According to the data, 4,147 soldiers have been injured since the beginning of the war, including 3,128 during ground battles inside the Gaza Strip.