The Israeli military issued call-up notices to more members of the ultra-Orthodox community on Sunday to bolster its forces as it fights on its southern and northern borders, a move that may further inflame tensions between religious and secular Israelis.

Defense Minister Israel Katz gave the go-ahead for 7,000 draft notices to be sent to ultra-Orthodox Jews for enlistment in the Israel Defense Forces.

The first 1,000 of 7,000 new draft orders to male members of the ultra-Orthodox community are being sent out by the military today. The orders, which constitute the first stage in the screening and evaluation process that the army carries out for recruits ahead of enlistment in the military in the coming year,

"We are very disappointed," Rexhinaldo Nazarko, executive director of the American Muslim Engagement and Empowerment Network (AMEEN), told Reuters.