A prominent Israeli journalist Hananya Naftali has been drafted by Israel Defence Forces to fight for his country as it prepares for war against Hamas terrorist group. He is among 300,000 others who have been drafted by Israel to fight in the war.
Hananya Naftali announced that he is leaving to defend his county in a heartfelt post. He shared a photo of him hugging his wife on X, previously twitter, and said that in his absence, she will be managing his social media account. He captioned the photo, "I am drafted as well to serve and defend my country Israel. I said goodbye to my wife India, who sent me with blessings and protection of God. From now on she will be managing and posting on my behalf so be nice to her."
Hananya Naftali's wife India Naftali, also an Israeli journalist, reshared the post and urged people to pray for them as her husband left to fight in the war.
Hananya Naftali shared another video after being deployed for the war. In the video, he says that the reason he has been deployed is not just to defend their borders but to defend homes and families.
The couple has been extensively covering the Iran-Hamas war. A video of them taking refuge in a bomb shelter went viral yesterday. In the video, Hananya Naftali shared that they woke up to the rocket sirens and had to run to the bomb shelter in Tel Aviv. He also said that they heard explosions several time throughout the day.
"There is an all-time, unprecedented war that we are seeing right on," Hananya Naftali said in the video.
In another video shared by India Naftali, she can be seen rushing to a bomb shelter as explosions can be heard in the background.
Israel has called on a record 300,000 reservists since Saturday, said military spokesperson, after the country announced war against Hamas. This comes as Israel braces for a major counteroffensive against the terrorist group.
The Israel Defense Forces shared a photo on X of a father saying goodbye to his son and promising him of coming back before leaving for the war.
In Israel, every citizen above the age of 18 who is Jewish, Druze or Circassian is required to serve in the army. However, there are a few exceptions. Israeli Arabs, religious women, married individuals, and those deemed mentally or medically unfit are exempted from the compulsory service. Apart from the exemptions, the enlisted men and women are expected to serve for minimum of 32 and 24 months respectively.
