Israel has warned that its latest onslaught in Gaza is "just the beginning" as its forces pound the enclave with deadly airstrikes and launch new ground operations.
But a return to a full-scale ground war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas could prove more complicated amid waning public support, exhausted military reservists and political challenges, some current and former Israeli officials, as well as analysts say.
Military service is mandatory in Israel, a small nation of fewer than 10 million people, but it relies heavily on reservists in times of crisis.
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