View source for Israel Defense Forces

{{Short description|Combined military forces of Israel}}
{{Redirect|IDF}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2017}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox national military
| name = Israel Defense Forces
| native_name = {{Noitalics|{{nobold|צבא הגנה לישראל}}}}
| image = [[File:Badge of the Israeli Defense Forces 2022 version.svg|165px|alt=IDF Emblem, containing a sword wrapped in an olive branch inside a Star of David]]
| alt = 
| caption = [[Israel Defense Forces Emblem|Emblem]]
| image2 = [[File:Flag of the Israel Defense Forces.svg|border|190px]]
| caption2 = Standard
| alt2 = Standard of the IDF, featuring the IDF emblem and the Israeli flag
| motto = 
| founded = {{Start date and age|1948|05|26|df=yes}}
| current_form = 
| disbanded = 
| branches = {{unbulletedlist|{{army|Israel}}|{{air force|Israel}}|{{navy|Israel}}}}
| headquarters = 
| flying_hours = 
| website = {{URL|https://www.idf.il/en/|idf.il}}
<!-- Leadership -->| commander-in-chief = 
| commander-in-chief_title = 
| chief minister = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Prime Minister of Israel.svg}} [[Benjamin Netanyahu]]
| chief minister_title = [[Prime Minister of Israel|Prime Minister]]
| minister = {{flagicon image|Flag of Israel Minister of Defence.svg}} [[Israel Katz]]
| minister_title = [[Defense Minister of Israel|Defense Minister]]
| chief_of_staff = {{flagicon image|Flag of IDF Chief of Staff.svg}} [[Eyal Zamir]]
| chief_of_staff_title = [[Chief of the General Staff (Israel)|Chief of the General Staff]]
<!-- Manpower -->| age = 17
| conscription = 24–34 months
| active = 169,500<ref name=IISS1>{{cite book| url=https://www.iiss.org/publications/the-military-balance/the-military-balance-2023| title=The Military Balance 2023| author1=International Institute for Strategic Studies| author-link1=International Institute for Strategic Studies| date=15 February 2023| publisher=[[Routledge]]| location=[[London]]| page=331| isbn=9781032508955| access-date=18 October 2023| archive-date=1 March 2023| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230301074652/https://www.iiss.org/publications/the-military-balance/the-military-balance-2023| url-status=live}}</ref>
| ranked = 
| reserve = 465,000<ref name=IISS1 />
| deployed = <!-- Financial -->
| amount = {{USD|24.3 billion|link=yes}} (2021)<ref name="SIPRI-2020">{{cite web |last1=Tian |first1=Nan |last2=Fleurant |first2=Aude |last3=Kuimova |first3=Alexandra |last4=Wezeman |first4=Pieter D. |last5=Wezeman |first5=Siemon T. |date=24 April 2022 |title=Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2021 |url=https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2022-04/fs_2204_milex_2021_0.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220425064753/https://www.sipri.org/publications/2022/sipri-fact-sheets/trends-world-military-expenditure-2021 |archive-date=25 April 2022 |access-date=25 April 2022 |publisher=[[Stockholm International Peace Research Institute]]}}</ref> ([[List of countries by military expenditures|ranked 15th]])
| percent_GDP = 5.2% (2021)<ref name="SIPRI-2020"/>
<!-- Industrial -->| domestic_suppliers = {{bulletedlist|[[Israel Aerospace Industries]]|[[Israel Military Industries]]|[[Israel Weapon Industries]]|[[Elbit Systems]]|[[Elisra]]|[[Elta Systems|Elta]]|[[Rafael Advanced Defense Systems|Rafael]]|[[Israel Shipyards]]}}
| foreign_suppliers = * {{flag|United States}}
* {{flag|Germany}}
* {{flag|United Kingdom}}
* {{flag|Italy}}
* {{flag|France}}
* {{flag|India}} <ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240214-india-sends-killer-drones-to-israel-as-attack-on-rafah-looms/ |title=India sends ‘killer’ drones to Israel as attack on Rafah looms |work=[[Middle East Monitor]] |publisher=[[Middle East Monitor]] |date=2024-02-14 }}</ref>
| imports = 
| exports = <!-- Related articles -->
| history = [[Israeli–Palestinian conflict]] <small>(1948–present)</small><br />[[1948 Arab–Israeli War]] <small>(1948–1949)</small><br />[[Reprisal operations]] <small>(1951–1956)</small><br />[[Suez Crisis|Sinai War]] <small>(1956)</small><br />[[Six-Day War]] <small>(1967)</small><br />[[War of Attrition]] <small>(1967–1970)</small><br />[[Yom Kippur War]] <small>(1973)</small><br />[[1978 South Lebanon conflict|Operation Litani]] <small>(1978)</small><br />[[1982 Lebanon War]] <small>(1982–1985)</small><br />[[South Lebanon conflict (1982–2000)|South Lebanon conflict]] <small>(1985–2000)</small><br />[[First Intifada]] <small>(1987–1993)</small><br />[[Second Intifada]] <small>(2000–2005)</small><br />[[2006 Lebanon War]] <small>(2006)</small><br />[[Gaza War (2008–2009)]] <small>(2008–2009)</small><br />[[Israeli–Syrian ceasefire line incidents during the Syrian civil war]] <small>(2012–present)</small><br />[[2012 Gaza War]] <small>(2012)</small><br />[[2014 Gaza War]] <small>(2014)</small><br />[[2021 Israel–Palestine crisis]] <small>(2021)</small><br />[[Gaza war]] <small>(2023–present)</small><br />[[Israeli invasion of Lebanon (2024–present)|Israeli invasion of Lebanon]] <small>(2024–present)</small><br />[[Israeli invasion of Syria (2024–present)|Israeli invasion of Syria]] <small>(2024–present)</small><br />[[Iran–Israel war]] <small>(2025)</small><br />''[[Military operations conducted by the Israel Defense Forces|Others]]''
| ranks = [[Israel Defense Forces ranks]]
}}

The '''Israel Defense Forces''' ('''IDF'''; {{langx|he|צבא הגנה לישראל|{{Audio|He-Israeli Defense Forces.ogg|''Tsva Hagana le-Yisra'el''|help=no}}|Army for the Defense of Israel}}), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym '''{{Transliteration|he|Tzahal}}''' ({{Lang|he|צה״ל}}), is the national [[military]] of the [[State of Israel]]. It consists of three service branches: the [[Israeli Ground Forces]], the [[Israeli Air Force]], and the [[Israeli Navy]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=|title=THE STATE: Israel Defense Forces (IDF)|url=https://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/aboutisrael/state/pages/the%20state-%20israel%20defense%20forces%20-idf-.aspx#:~:text=The%20IDF's%20three%20service%20branches,to%20the%20minister%20of%20defense.|access-date=18 August 2021|website=Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs|quote=The IDF's three service branches (ground forces, air force, and navy) function under a unified command, headed by the Chief of the General Staff, with the rank of lieutenant-general, who is responsible to the minister of defence.|archive-date=18 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818074136/https://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/aboutisrael/state/pages/the%20state-%20israel%20defense%20forces%20-idf-.aspx#:~:text=The%20IDF's%20three%20service%20branches,to%20the%20minister%20of%20defense.|url-status=live}}</ref> It is the sole military wing of the [[Israeli security forces|Israeli security apparatus]]. The IDF is headed by the [[Chief of the General Staff (Israel)|chief of the general staff]], who is subordinate to the [[Ministry of Defense (Israel)|defense minister]].

On the orders of first prime minister [[David Ben-Gurion]], the IDF was formed on 26 May 1948 and began to operate as a [[Conscription in Israel|conscript military]], drawing its initial recruits from the already existing paramilitaries of the [[Yishuv]]—namely [[Haganah]], the [[Irgun]], and [[Lehi (militant group)|Lehi]]. It was formed shortly after the [[Israeli Declaration of Independence]] and has participated in [[List of wars involving Israel|every armed conflict involving Israel]]. In the wake of the [[Egypt–Israel peace treaty|1979 Egypt–Israel peace treaty]] and the [[Israel–Jordan peace treaty|1994 Israel–Jordan peace treaty]], the IDF underwent a significant strategic realignment. Previously spread across various fronts—[[Lebanon]] and [[Syria]] in the north, [[Jordan]] and [[Iraq]] in the east, and [[Egypt]] in the south—the IDF redirected its focus towards [[Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon|southern Lebanon]] and the [[Palestinian territories]]. In 2000, the IDF withdrew from Southern Lebanon and [[Israeli disengagement from Gaza|in 2005 from Gaza]]. Conflict between Israel and Islamist groups based in Gaza, notably [[Hamas]], has continued since then. Moreover, notable [[Israeli–Syrian ceasefire line incidents during the Syrian civil war|Israeli–Syrian border incidents]] have occurred frequently since 2011, due to regional instability caused by the [[Syrian civil war]].

Since 1967, the IDF has maintained a [[Israel–United States military relations|close security relationship with the United States]],<ref>{{cite book |author=Mahler, Gregory S. |title=Israel After Begin |page=45 |publisher=SUNY Press |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-7914-0367-9}}</ref> including in research and development cooperation, with joint efforts on the [[McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle|F-15I]] and the [[Arrow (Israeli missile)|Arrow]] defence system, among others. The IDF is believed to have maintained [[Nuclear weapons and Israel|an operational nuclear weapons capability since 1967]], possibly possessing between 80 and 400 [[Nuclear weapon|nuclear warheads]].<ref name="israelcohen">There is a wide range of estimates as to the size of the Israeli nuclear arsenal. For a compiled list of estimates, see [[Avner Cohen]], ''The Worst-Kept Secret: Israel's bargain with the Bomb'' (Columbia University Press, 2010), Table 1, page xxvii and page 82.</ref> The IDF's actions and policies in the Palestinian territories have faced widespread criticism, with accusations of [[Oppression|repression]], institutionalized [[Anti-Palestinianism|discrimination]], [[unlawful killing]]s and systematic abuses of [[Human rights violations against Palestinians by Israel|Palestinian rights]], with multiple human rights organizations and scholars accusing the IDF of [[Gaza genocide|genocide]].<ref name="HRW1"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Israel, West Bank and Gaza |url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/israel-west-bank-and-gaza/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240306132629/https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/israel-west-bank-and-gaza/ |archive-date=6 March 2024 |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=United States Department of State |language=en-US }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-02-01 |title=Israel's apartheid against Palestinians: a cruel system of domination and a crime against humanity |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/02/israels-apartheid-against-palestinians-a-cruel-system-of-domination-and-a-crime-against-humanity/ |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=Amnesty International |language=en}}</ref>

==Etymology==
The [[Cabinet of Israel|Israeli cabinet]] ratified the name "Israel Defense Forces" ({{langx|he|צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל }}), ''Tzva haHagana leYisra'el'', literally "the army for the defence of Israel," on 26 May 1948. The other main contender was ''Tzva Yisra'el'' ({{langx|he|צְבָא יִשְׂרָאֵל}}). The name was chosen because it conveyed the idea that the army's role was defence and incorporated the name [[Haganah]], the pre-state defensive organization upon which the new army was based.<ref name="ostfeld-name">{{cite book |title=An Army is Born |volume= 1 |author=Ostfeld, Zehava |year=1994 |publisher=[[Ministry of Defense (Israel)|Israel Ministry of Defense]] |pages=113–116 |isbn=978-965-05-0695-7 |editor=Shoshana Shiftel|language=he}}</ref> Among the primary opponents of the name were Minister [[Haim-Moshe Shapira]] and the [[Hatzohar]] party, both in favor of ''Tzva Yisra'el''.<ref name="ostfeld-name" />

In Israel's [[Basic Laws of Israel|basic law]] about the military, the Hebrew name of the IDF is {{lang|he|צבא הגנה לישראל}}, ''Tzva Hagana LeYisra'el'', without a definite article on the second word.<ref>{{cite web |title=חוק-יסוד: הצבא |website=Knesset |access-date=19 September 2025 |language=he |trans-title=Basic Law: The Military|url=https://main.knesset.gov.il/Activity/Legislation/Documents/yesod9.pdf}}</ref>

==History==
{{main|History of the Israel Defense Forces}}

{{See also|Zionism#Pre-state self-defense|Israeli war crimes}}
{{further|List of the Israel Defense Forces operations}}
{{More citations needed section|date=January 2013}}

The IDF traces its roots to Jewish paramilitary organizations in the [[Yishuv|New Yishuv]], starting with the [[Second Aliyah]] (1904 to 1914).<ref>{{cite web |author=Speedy |url=http://thespeedymedia.blogspot.com/2011/09/idfs-history.html#.U4ei6F4ZffM |title=The Speedy Media: IDF's History |publisher=Thespeedymedia.blogspot.com |date=12 September 2011 |access-date=3 August 2014 |archive-date=27 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327205050/http://thespeedymedia.blogspot.com/2011/09/idfs-history.html#.U4ei6F4ZffM |url-status=live }}</ref> There had been several such organizations, or in part even older date, such as the "Mahane Yehuda" mounted guards company founded by Michael Halperin in 1891<ref name=post>{{cite web |title= The Israeli Flag (definitive stamp), 11/2010. Four Milestones in the History of the Flag: Nezz Ziona, 1891 |publisher=[[Israel Postal Company]] |url= https://services.israelpost.co.il/PostBoolaee.nsf/Allbulim/25823662C6A509C6C22577D100379ECC/$File/Israeli%20Flag.pdf |access-date= 22 January 2024}}</ref> (see [[Ness Ziona#History|Ness Ziona]]), [[HaMagen]] (1915–17),<ref name=Oslo>Hemmingby, Cato. [http://urn.nb.no/URN:NBN:no-28597 ''Conflict and Military Terminology: The Language of the Israel Defense Forces''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111181627/https://www.duo.uio.no/handle/10852/24378 |date=January 11, 2024 }}. Master's thesis, University of Oslo, 2011. Accessed January 8, 2021.</ref> HaNoter<ref name=Oslo/> (1912–13; see [[Zionism#Pre-state self-defense|Zionism: Pre-state self-defense]]), and the much more consequential (but falsely-claimed "first" such organization), [[Bar-Giora]], founded in September 1907. Bar-Giora was transformed into [[Hashomer]] in April 1909, which operated until the [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate of Palestine]] came into being in 1920. Hashomer was an elitist organization with a narrow scope and was mainly created to protect against criminal gangs seeking to steal property. The [[Zion Mule Corps]] and the [[Jewish Legion]], both part of the [[British Army]] of [[World War I]], further bolstered the Yishuv with military experience and manpower, forming the basis for later paramilitary forces.<ref name="auto4">{{cite web |title=HAGANAH |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/asia-and-africa/israeli-history/haganah |website=encyclopedia.com |publisher=The Gale Group, Inc. |access-date=January 23, 2019 |language=en |quote=The Haganah ("defense") was founded in June 1920... |archive-date=31 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531185912/https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/asia-and-africa/israeli-history/haganah |url-status=live }}</ref>

After the [[1920 Palestine riots]] against Jews in April 1920, the Yishuv leadership realized the need for a nationwide underground defence organization, and the [[Haganah]] was founded in June 1920.<ref name="auto4"/> The Haganah became a full-scale defence force after the [[1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine]] with an organized structure, consisting of three main units—the [[Hish (Haganah corps)|Field Corps]], [[Guard Corps (Haganah)|Guard Corps]], and the [[Palmach]]. During World War II, the Yishuv participated in the British war effort, culminating in the formation of the [[Jewish Brigade]]. These would eventually form the backbone of the Israel Defense Forces, and provide it with its initial manpower and doctrine.

Following Israel's [[Declaration of Independence (Israel)|Declaration of Independence]], Prime Minister and Defense Minister [[David Ben-Gurion]] issued an order for the formation of the Israel Defense Forces on 26 May 1948. Although Ben-Gurion had no legal authority to issue such an order, the order was made legal by [[Cabinet of Israel|the cabinet]] on 31 May. The same order called for the disbandment of all other Jewish armed forces.<ref name="ostfeld-legal">{{cite book |title=An Army is Born |volume=1 |author=Ostfeld, Zehava |year=1994 |publisher=[[Ministry of Defense (Israel)|Israel Ministry of Defense]] |pages=104–106 |isbn=978-965-05-0695-7 |editor=Shoshana Shiftel|language=he}}</ref> The two other Jewish underground organizations, [[Irgun]] and [[Lehi (group)|Lehi]], agreed to join the IDF if they would be able to form independent units and agreed not to make independent arms purchases. This was the background for the [[Altalena Affair]], a confrontation surrounding weapons purchased by the Irgun resulting in a standoff between Irgun members and the newly created IDF. The affair came to an end when ''Altalena'', the ship carrying the arms, was shelled by the IDF. Following the affair, all independent Irgun and Lehi units were either disbanded or merged into the IDF. The Palmach, a leading component of the Haganah, also joined the IDF [[The Generals' Revolt|with provisions]], and Ben Gurion responded by disbanding its staff in 1949, after which many senior Palmach officers retired, notably its first commander, [[Yitzhak Sadeh]].

The new army organized itself when the [[1947–48 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine]] escalated into the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]], which saw neighbouring Arab states attack. Twelve [[Infantry Corps (Israel)|infantry]] and [[Armor Corps (Israel)|armoured]] brigades formed: [[Golani Brigade|Golani]], [[Carmeli Brigade|Carmeli]], [[Alexandroni Brigade|Alexandroni]], [[Kiryati Brigade|Kiryati]], [[Givati Brigade|Givati]], [[Etzioni Brigade|Etzioni]], the [[7th Armoured Brigade (Israel)|7th]], and [[8th Armored Brigade (Israel)|8th]] armoured brigades, [[Oded Brigade|Oded]], [[Harel Brigade|Harel]], [[Yiftach Brigade|Yiftach]], and [[Negev Brigade|the Negev]].<ref name="idf-enc-11-15">{{cite encyclopedia |title=The Infantry Brigades |encyclopedia=IDF in Its Corps: Army and Security Encyclopedia |last=Pa'il |first=Meir |author-link=Meir Pa'il |publisher=Revivim Publishing |year=1982 |page=15 |volume=11 |editor=Yehuda Schiff|language=he}}</ref> After the war, some of the brigades were converted to reserve units, and others were disbanded. Directorates and corps were created from corps and services in the Haganah, and this basic structure in the IDF [[#Organization|still exists today]].

Immediately after the 1948 war, the [[Israel-Palestinian conflict]] shifted to a [[Reprisal operations|low-intensity conflict]] between the IDF and [[Palestinian fedayeen]]. In the 1956 [[Suez Crisis]], the IDF's first serious test of strength after 1949, the new army captured the [[Sinai Peninsula]] from Egypt, which was later returned. In the 1967 [[Six-Day War]], Israel conquered the Sinai Peninsula, [[Gaza Strip]], [[West Bank]] (including [[East Jerusalem]]) and [[Golan Heights]] from the surrounding Arab states, changing the balance of power in the region as well as the role of the IDF. In the following years leading up to the [[Yom Kippur War]], the IDF fought in the [[War of Attrition]] against Egypt in the Sinai and a border war against the [[Palestine Liberation Organization]] (PLO) in [[Jordan]], culminating in the [[Battle of Karameh]].

The surprise of the Yom Kippur War and its aftermath completely changed the IDF's procedures and approach to warfare. Organizational changes were made and more time was dedicated to training for [[conventional warfare]]. However, in the following years the army's role slowly shifted again to low-intensity conflict, [[urban warfare]] and [[counter-terrorism]]. An example of the latter was the successful 1976 [[Operation Entebbe]] commando raid to free hijacked airline passengers being held captive in [[Uganda]]. During this era, the IDF also mounted a [[Operation Opera|successful bombing mission]] in [[Iraq]] to destroy its nuclear reactor. It was involved in the [[Lebanese Civil War]], initiating [[Operation Litani]] and later the [[1982 Lebanon War]], where the IDF ousted Palestinian guerrilla organizations from [[Lebanon]].

For twenty-five years the IDF maintained a [[Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon|security zone]] inside South Lebanon with their allies the [[South Lebanon Army]]. Palestinian militancy has been the main focus of the IDF ever since, especially during the [[First Intifada|First]] and [[Second Intifada]]s, [[Operation Defensive Shield]], the [[Gaza War (2008–09)|Gaza War (2008–2009)]], the [[Operation Pillar of Defense|2012 Gaza War]], the [[Operation Protective Edge|2014 Gaza War]], and the [[Operation Guardian of the Walls|2021 Israel-Palestine crisis]], causing the IDF to change many of its values and publish the [[IDF Code of Ethics]]. The Lebanese [[Shia Islam|Shia]] organization [[Hezbollah]] has also been a growing threat,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/hezbollah-hiding-100000-missiles-that-can-hit-north-army-says/|title=Hezbollah hiding 100,000 missiles that can hit north, army says|work=The Times of Israel|date=13 May 2015 |access-date=8 March 2016|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304064112/http://www.timesofisrael.com/hezbollah-hiding-100000-missiles-that-can-hit-north-army-says/|url-status=live}}</ref> against which the IDF fought an [[South Lebanon conflict (1982–2000)|asymmetric conflict]] between 1982 and 2000, as well as a [[2006 Lebanon War|full-scale war]] in 2006.

The Israel Defense Forces have been accused of committing various [[Israeli war crimes|war crimes]] since the [[Israeli Declaration of Independence|founding of Israel]] in 1948. Israel ratified the [[Geneva Conventions]] on July 6, 1951,<ref name="HRW">{{cite web |title=The Obligations of Israel and the Palestinian Authority Under International Law |url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/israel/hebron6-04.htm#:~:text=Israel%20ratified%20the%20Geneva%20Conventions%20on%20July%206%2C%201951.&text=Israel%20has%20not%20signed%20or,not%20party%20to%20the%20treaty. |website=[[Human Rights Watch]] |access-date=28 October 2023 |archive-date=13 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231013105550/https://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/israel/hebron6-04.htm#:~:text=Israel%20ratified%20the%20Geneva%20Conventions%20on%20July%206%2C%201951.&text=Israel%20has%20not%20signed%20or,not%20party%20to%20the%20treaty. |url-status=live}}</ref> and on January 2, 2015, the [[State of Palestine]] acceded to the [[Rome Statute]], granting the [[International Criminal Court]] (ICC) jurisdiction over war crimes committed in the [[Palestinian territories|Occupied Palestinian Territories]] (OPT).<ref>{{cite web |title=Accountability for International Crimes in Palestine |url=https://ccrjustice.org/home/what-we-do/our-cases/accountability-international-crimes-palestine |website=ccrjustice.org |access-date=28 October 2023 |archive-date=7 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107000440/https://ccrjustice.org/home/what-we-do/our-cases/accountability-international-crimes-palestine |url-status=live}}</ref> A 2017 report by [[Human Rights Watch]] accused the IDF of [[unlawful killing]]s, [[police brutality|using excessive force in policing situations]], [[forced displacement]], excessive use of [[detention (imprisonment)|detention]] and [[Palestinian freedom of movement|excessive restrictions on movement]], as well as criticized the IDF's support and protection for [[Israeli settlements]] in the [[occupied Palestinian territory]].<ref name="HRW1">{{cite web |date=4 June 2017 |title=Israel: 50 Years of Occupation Abuses |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/06/04/israel-50-years-occupation-abuses |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240409043702/https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/06/04/israel-50-years-occupation-abuses |archive-date=9 April 2024 |access-date=31 March 2024 |work=Human Rights Watch }}</ref>
Human rights experts argue that actions taken by the IDF during armed conflicts in the OPT fall under the rubric of war crimes.<ref>{{cite web |title=Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/middle-east-and-north-africa/israel-and-occupied-palestinian-territories/report-israel-and-occupied-palestinian-territories/ |website=[[Amnesty International]] |access-date=9 October 2023 |archive-date=11 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231011073839/https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/middle-east-and-north-africa/israel-and-occupied-palestinian-territories/report-israel-and-occupied-palestinian-territories/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Various [[UN special rapporteur]]s, alongside human rights and aid organizations including [[Human Rights Watch]], [[Médecins Sans Frontières]], [[Amnesty International]], have accused Israel of war crimes, and since 2024, [[genocide]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Gaza: Apparent War Crimes During May Fighting |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/07/27/gaza-apparent-war-crimes-during-may-fighting |website=Human Rights Watch |date=27 July 2021 |access-date=9 October 2023 |archive-date=11 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411105454/https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/07/27/gaza-apparent-war-crimes-during-may-fighting |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="MSF war crimes1">{{cite news |title=Indiscriminate violence and the collective punishment of Gaza must cease |url=https://www.msf.org/indiscriminate-violence-and-collective-punishment-gaza-must-cease |newspaper=Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) International |publisher=[[Médecins Sans Frontières]] |access-date=1 November 2023 |archive-date=22 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022012057/https://www.msf.org/indiscriminate-violence-and-collective-punishment-gaza-must-cease |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Israel May Have Committed War Crimes in Jenin Operation, UN Palestinian Rights Official Says |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-07-06/ty-article/.premium/israel-may-have-committed-war-crimes-in-jenin-raid-un-palestinian-rights-official-says/00000189-2a7b-dcb5-a5df-6f7f370a0000 |work=[[Haaretz]] |access-date=9 October 2023 |archive-date=2023-07-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707052148/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-07-06/ty-article/.premium/israel-may-have-committed-war-crimes-in-jenin-raid-un-palestinian-rights-official-says/00000189-2a7b-dcb5-a5df-6f7f370a0000 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Israel/OPT: Investigate war crimes during August offensive on Gaza |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/10/israel-opt-investigate-war-crimes-during-august-offensive-on-gaza/ |website=[[Amnesty International]] |date=25 October 2022 |access-date=9 October 2023 |archive-date=19 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231019203733/https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/10/israel-opt-investigate-war-crimes-during-august-offensive-on-gaza/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Israeli Settlements Should be Classified as War Crimes, Says Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in OPT |url=https://www.un.org/unispal/document/israeli-settlements-should-be-classified-as-war-crimes-says-special-rapporteur-on-the-situation-of-human-rights-in-opt-press-release/ |website=[[United Nations]] |access-date=9 October 2023 |archive-date=25 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220325220303/https://www.un.org/unispal/document/israeli-settlements-should-be-classified-as-war-crimes-says-special-rapporteur-on-the-situation-of-human-rights-in-opt-press-release/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-12-05 |title=Amnesty International concludes Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/12/amnesty-international-concludes-israel-is-committing-genocide-against-palestinians-in-gaza/ |access-date=2025-06-12 |website=Amnesty International |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-12-19 |title=Israel's Crime of Extermination, Acts of Genocide in Gaza {{!}} Human Rights Watch |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/12/19/israels-crime-extermination-acts-genocide-gaza |access-date=2025-06-12 |language=en}}</ref>

==Organization==
[[File:Flickr - Israel Defense Forces - Honor Guard at IDF Headquarters for Outgoing Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi.jpg|thumb|IDF [[HaKirya|Kirya Compound]], Tel Aviv]]
All branches of the IDF answer to a single [[General Staff (Israel)|General Staff]]. The [[Chief of General Staff (Israel)|Chief of the General Staff]] is the only serving officer having the rank of [[Lieutenant General]] (''Rav Aluf''). He reports directly to the [[Defense Minister of Israel|Defense Minister]] and indirectly to the [[Prime Minister of Israel]] and the cabinet. Chiefs of Staff are formally appointed by the cabinet, based on the Defense Minister's recommendation, for three years. The government can vote to extend their service to four, and on rare occasions even five years. The current chief of staff is [[Eyal Zamir]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/eyal-zamir-takes-over-from-herzi-halevi-as-idf-chief-vows-victory-over-hamas/|title=Eyal Zamir takes over from Herzi Halevi as IDF chief, vows victory over Hamas|first=Emanuel|last=Fabian|website=[[The Times of Israel]] |issn=0040-7909}}</ref>

===Structure===
The IDF includes the following bodies. Those whose respective heads are members of the [[General Staff (Israel)|General Staff]] are in bold:

[[File:structure idf.png|thumb|The structure of the Israel Defense Forces (click to enlarge)]]

{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}

====Regional commands====
* '''[[Northern Command (Israel)|Northern Command]]'''
* '''[[Central Command (Israel)|Central Command]]'''
* '''[[Southern Command (Israel)|Southern Command]]'''
* '''[[Home Front Command (Israel)|Home Front Command]]'''

====Arms====
'''[[Israeli Ground Forces|Ground Arm]]'''
* [[Infantry Corps (Israel)|Infantry Corps]]
** [[Golani Brigade|1st "Golani" Brigade]]
** [[35th Paratroopers Brigade (Israel)|35th "Paratroopers" Brigade]]
** [[Nahal Brigade|84th "Nahal" Brigade]]
** [[Oz Brigade|89th "Oz" Brigade]]
** [[Kfir Brigade|900th "Kfir" Brigade]]
** [[Givati Brigade|933rd "Givati" Brigade]]
* [[Armored Corps (Israel)|Armored Corps]]
** [[7th Armored Brigade (Israel)|7th "Saar me-Golan" Armored Brigade]]
** [[Barak Armored Brigade|188th "Barak" Armored Brigade]]
** [[401st Brigade (Israel)|401st "Ikvot HaBarzel" Armored Brigade]]
** [[460th Brigade (Israel)|460th "Bnei Or" Armored Brigade]]
* [[Artillery Corps (Israel)|Artillery Corps]]
* [[Israeli Engineering Corps|Combat Engineering Corps]]
* [[Combat Intelligence Collection Corps (Israel)|Combat Intelligence Collection Corps]]

'''Air and Space Arm'''
* [[Israeli Air Force|Air Force]]
:*[[Israeli Air Defense Network|Air Defense Network]]

'''Sea Arm'''
* [[Israeli Navy]]
{{col-break}}

====Administrative branches====
'''[[General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces|General Staff]]'''
*'''Multi-Branch Force Buildup Directorate'''

The IDF operates, as of 2024, a Multi-Domain Joint Operations Array, dealing with [[multi-domain operations]], a [[joint warfare]] branch.

*'''{{ill|Third-Circle Directorate|he|אגף אסטרטגיה ומעגל שלישי}}'''
* '''[[Israeli Operations Directorate|Operations Directorate]]'''
** [[IDF Spokesperson's Unit|IDF Spokesperson]]
** [[The Dado Center for Interdisciplinary Military Studies]]
* '''[[Aman (IDF)|Intelligence Directorate]]'''
** [[Israeli Intelligence Corps|Intelligence Corps]]
** [[Israeli Military Censor|Military Censor]]
* '''[[Depth Corps|Depth Headquarters]]'''
* '''[[Manpower Directorate]]'''
** [[Israeli Military Police|Military Police Corps]]
** [[Israeli Education and Youth Corps|Education and Youth Corps]]
** [[Israeli Adjutant Corps|Adjutant Corps]]
** [[Israeli General Corps|General Corps]]
** [[Military Rabbinate]]
** [[Women's Affairs advisor]]
** Manpower Planning and Administration brigade
** Individuals' Department
** Staff Department
** [[Israeli Chief Reserve Officer|Chief Reserve Officer]]
* '''Military Courts / Tribunals Unit'''
** [[Israeli Military Court|Military Court / Tribunal]]
** [[Military Advocate General]]
** [[Israeli Military Court of Appeals|Military Court of Appeals]]
* '''[[Computer Service Directorate]]'''
** [[C4I Corps|Teleprocessing and Signal Corps]]
* '''[[Logistics, Medical, and the Centers Directorate|Technological and Logistics Directorate]]'''
** [[Israeli Ordnance Corps|Ordnance Corps]]
** [[Logistics Corps (Israel)|Logistics Corps]]
** [[Israeli Medical Corps|Medical Corps]]

{{col-break}}

====Other bodies====
'''Military:'''
* '''Military Academies'''
** Tactical Command College
** [[Command and Staff College (Israel)|Command and Staff College]]
** [[National Security College (Israel)|National Security College]]
* [[Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories]]
* [[Financial Advisor to the Chief of Staff]]
* [[Military Secretary to the Prime Minister]]
'''Civilian:'''
* [[Director-general]] of the [[Ministry of Defense (Israel)|Ministry of Defense]]
* [[Defense Establishment Comptroller Unit]]
* [[Administration for the Development of Weapons and the Technological Industry]]
* Engineering and Construction Department of the Ministry of Defense

{{col-end}}

==Ranks, uniforms and insignia==

=== Ranks ===
{{Main|Israel Defense Forces ranks}}

[[File:Dayan w Kuntila Raid comm.jpg|thumb|Israeli officers of the Paratrooper Battalion 890 in 1955 with [[Moshe Dayan]] (standing, third from the left). [[Ariel Sharon]] is standing, second from the left and commando [[Meir Har Zion]] is standing furthest left. Note the wearing of four pocket tunics by paratroopers and khaki uniforms being worn as a sort of dress uniform.]] Unlike most militaries, the IDF uses the same rank names in all corps, including the air force and navy.

[[File:Milhama1.jpg|thumb|Israeli soldiers coming back from the Second Lebanon war, armed with the [[M4 Carbine]] and the [[IMI Negev]] light [[machinegun]]]]

From the formation of the IDF until the late 1980s, [[sergeant major]] was a particularly important [[warrant officer]] rank, in line with usage in other armies. In the 1980s and 1990s the proliferating ranks of sergeant major became devalued, and now all professional [[non-commissioned officer]] ranks are a variation on sergeant major (''rav samal'') except for ''rav nagad''.

All translations here are the official translations of the IDF's website.<ref name="IDF">{{cite web|url=http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/about/insignia/ranks.htm |title=IDF Ranks |publisher=IDF |access-date=10 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090830070254/http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/about/insignia/ranks.htm |archive-date=30 August 2009}}</ref>

'''[[Conscript]]s''' (''Hogrim'') (Conscript ranks may be gained purely on time served)
* [[Private (rank)|Private]] (''Turai'')
* [[Corporal]] (''Rav Turai'') (also called ''rabat''<ref>Pgs 10 & 59, Israeli Defense Forces since 1973, Osprey Elite 8, Samuel Katz, 1986, Osprey Publishing, {{ISBN|978-0-85045-687-5}}</ref>)
* [[Sergeant]] (''Samal'')
* [[First Sergeant]] (''Samal Rishon'')

'''[[Warrant Officer]]s''' (''Nagadim'')
* [[Sergeant First Class]] (''Rav Samal'')
* [[Master Sergeant]] (''Rav Samal Rishon'')
* [[Sergeant Major]] (''Rav Samal Mitkadem'')
* [[Warrant Officer]] (''Rav Samal Bakhir'')
* [[Master Warrant Officer]] (''Rav Nagad Mishneh'')
* [[Chief Warrant Officer]] (''Rav Nagad'')

'''Academic officers''' (''Ktzinim Akadema'im'')
* Professional Academic Officer (''Katzin Miktzo'i Akadema'i'')
* Senior Academic Officer (''Katzin Akadema'i Bakhir'')

'''[[Officer (armed forces)|Officers]]''' (''Ktzinim'')
* [[Second Lieutenant]] (''Segen Mishneh'') [1951–Present]
* [[Lieutenant]] (''Segen'')
* [[Captain (OF-2)|Captain]] (''Seren'')
* [[Major (rank)|Major]] (''Rav Seren'')
* [[Lieutenant Colonel]] (''Sgan Aluf'')
* [[Colonel]] (''Aluf Mishneh'') [1950–Present]
* [[Brigadier General]] (''Tat Aluf'') [1968–Present]
* [[Major General]] (''[[Aluf]]'') [1948–Present]
* [[Lieutenant General]] (''Rav Aluf'')

=== Uniforms ===
[[File:Idf-uniform-en.png|thumb|IDF uniform colors]]
[[File:Israeli Honor Guards stand at attention 01.jpg|thumb|IDF female Military Police wearing skirts with their white caps and belts]]
[[File:Spike_LR_3.jpg|thumb|Female IDF corporal with the [[Spike (missile)|Spike missile]] launcher, wearing the golden-olive Madei Alef uniform]]
The Israel Defense Forces has several types of uniforms:
* [[Service dress]] (מדי אלף ''Madei Alef'' – Uniform "A")&nbsp;– the everyday uniform, worn by everybody.
* [[battledress|Field dress]] (מדי ב ''Madei Bet'' – Uniform "B")&nbsp;– worn into combat, training, work on base.
The first two resemble each other but the Madei Alef is made of higher quality materials in a golden olive while the madei bet is in [[olive drab]].<ref>Israeli Defence Forces since 1973, Osprey – Elite Series #8, Sam Katz 1986, ISNC 0-85045-887-8</ref><ref name="historama.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.historama.com/online-resources/history-collecting-resources/militaria/idf_israel_defense_forces_militaria_guide.html#Uniforms |title=Guide to Israeli Militaria, Insignia, Badges, Uniforms & Unit Formations at Historama.com &#124; The Online History Shop |publisher=Historama.com |date=2 August 1945 |access-date=3 August 2014 |archive-date=4 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140804024615/http://www.historama.com/online-resources/history-collecting-resources/militaria/idf_israel_defense_forces_militaria_guide.html#Uniforms |url-status=live }}</ref> The dress uniforms may also exhibit a surface shine<ref name="historama.com"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://garinmahal.com/your-first-day-in-the-idf|title=GarinMahal – Your first day in the IDF|access-date=8 March 2016|archive-date=16 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151116033711/http://garinmahal.com/your-first-day-in-the-idf|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Officers / Ceremonial dress (מדי שרד ''madei srad'')&nbsp;– worn by officers, or during special events/ceremonies.
* [[Dress uniform]] and [[mess dress]]&nbsp;– worn only abroad. Several dress uniforms are depending on the season and the branch.

The service uniform for all ground forces personnel is [[olive green]]; navy and air force uniforms are [[beige]]/[[Tan (color)|tan]] (also once worn by the ground forces). The uniforms consist of a two-pocket shirt, [[combat trousers]], [[sweater]], jacket or blouse, and shoes or boots. The navy also has an all-white dress uniform. The green fatigues are the same for winter and summer and heavy winter gear is issued as needed. Women's dress parallels the men's but may substitute a skirt for trousers and a blouse for a shirt.

Headgear included a service cap for dress and semi-dress and a [[field cap]] or [[Boonie hat|"Kova raful" bush hat]] worn with fatigues. Many IDF personnel once wore the [[Tembel hat|tembel]] as a field hat. IDF personnel generally wear [[beret]]s instead of the service cap and there are many beret colours issued to IDF personnel. [[Paratroopers Brigade|Paratroopers]] are issued a maroon beret, [[Golani Brigade|Golani]] brown, [[Givati Brigade|Givati]] purple, [[Nahal Brigade|Nahal]] lime green, [[Kfir Brigade|Kfir]] camouflage, Combat Engineers grey, navy blue for IDF Naval and dark grey for IDF Air Force personnel.

In combat uniforms, the [[Orlite helmet]] has replaced the British [[Brodie helmet|Brodie helmet Mark II/Mark III]], [[RAC helmet|RAC Mk II modified helmet with chin web jump harness]] (used by [[Paratroopers Brigade|paratroopers]] and similar to the [[Helmet Steel Airborne Troop|HSAT Mk II/Mk III paratrooper helmet]]s),<ref>Katz & Volstad, ''Israeli Elite Units since 1948'' (1988), pp. 53–54; 56.</ref> US [[M1 helmet]],<ref>Katz & Volstad, ''Israeli Elite Units since 1948'' (1988), pp. 54–55; 57–59.</ref> and French [[Modèle 1951 helmet]] – previously worn by Israeli infantry and airborne troops from the late 1940s to the mid-1970s and early 1980s.<ref>Katz & Volstad, ''Israeli Elite Units since 1948'' (1988), p. 60.</ref>

Some corps or units have small variations in their uniforms&nbsp;– for instance, [[Military Police Corps (Israel)|military police]] wear a white belt and [[Peaked cap|police hat]], Naval personnel have dress whites for parades, paratroopers are issued a four pocket tunic (yarkit/yerkit) worn untucked with a pistol belt cinched tight around the waist over the shirt.<ref name="auto2">{{cite web |url=https://www.idf.il/en/minisites/paratroopers-brigade/ |title=Paratroopers Brigade |publisher=Israeli Defense Forces |access-date=16 May 2022 |archive-date=6 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706185711/https://www.idf.il/en/minisites/paratroopers-brigade/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The IDF Air Corps has a dress uniform consisting of a pale blue shirt with dark blue trousers.

Most IDF soldiers are issued black leather [[combat boots]], certain units issue [[Russet (color)|reddish-brown]] leather boots for historical reasons&nbsp;— the paratroopers,<ref name="auto2"/> combat medics, Nahal and Kfir Brigades, as well as some [[Israeli special forces units|Special Forces units]] ([[Sayeret Matkal]], [[Unit Oketz|Oketz]], [[Duvdevan Unit|Duvdevan]], [[Maglan]], and the Counter-Terror School). Women were also formerly issued [[Sandal (footwear)|sandal]]s, but this practice has ceased.

=== Insignia ===
{{Main|Israel Defense Forces insignia}}

IDF soldiers have three types of insignia (other than rank insignia) which identify their corps, specific unit, and position. A [[Israel Defense Forces insignia#Beret pins|pin attached to the beret]] identifies a soldier's corps. Individual units are identified by a shoulder tag attached to the left [[shoulder strap (insignia)|shoulder strap]]. The position/job of a soldier can then be identified by an [[aiguillette]] attached to the left shoulder strap and shirt pocket, and a pin indicating the soldier's work type.

==Service==
===Military service routes===
[[File:Flickr - Israel Defense Forces - 163rd IAF Flight Course Graduates (1).jpg|thumb|163rd IAF flight course graduates (2011)]]
The military service is held in three different tracks:
* '''[[National service|Regular service]]''' (שירות חובה): mandatory military service which is held according to the Israeli security service law.
* '''[[Military recruitment|Permanent service]]''' (שירות קבע): military service which is held as part of a contractual agreement between the IDF and the permanent position-holder.
* '''[[Reserve duty (Israel)|Reserve service]]''' (שירות מילואים): a military service in which citizens are called for active duty of at most a month every year (in accordance with the Reserve Service Law), for training and ongoing military activities and especially to increase the military forces in case of a war.

Sometimes the IDF would also hold pre-military courses (קורס קדם צבאי or קד"צ) for soon-to-be regular service soldiers.

===Special service routes===
{{More citations needed section|date=June 2017}}
[[File:Flickr - Israel Defense Forces - Flight School Graduates Receive Their New Rankings as Air Force Officers.jpg|thumb|IAF flight academy graduates receive their ranks as air force officers.]]
* '''[[Shoher]]''' (שוחר), a person enrolled in pre-military studies (high school, technical college up to engineering degree, some of the קד"ץ courses) – after completing the twelfth study year will do a two-month boot-camp and, if allowed, enter a program of education to qualify as a [[practical engineer]], with at least two weeks of training following each study year. Successful candidates will continue for an engineering [[bachelor degree]].
* '''Civilian working for the IDF''' ({{langx|he|אזרח עובד צה"ל}}), a civilian working for the military.

The [[Manpower Directorate|Israeli Manpower Directorate]] ({{langx|he|אגף משאבי אנוש}}) at the [[General Staff (Israel)|Israeli General Staff]] is the body which coordinates and assembles activities related to the control over human resources and its placement.

====Regular service====
{{Main|Conscription in Israel}}

[[File:Flickr - Israel Defense Forces - Trying on Uniforms for the First Time (1).jpg|thumb|IDF conscripts trying on uniforms for the first time]]
[[File:Nahal-kumta.jpg|thumb|IDF [[Nahal Brigade]] soldiers on their regular service]]

National military service is mandatory for all [[Israelis|Israeli]] citizens over the age of 18, although [[Arab-Israeli|Arab]] (but not [[Druze]]) citizens are exempted if they so please, and other exceptions may be made on religious, physical or psychological grounds (see [[Profile 21]]). The [[Tal law]] exempted ultra-Orthodox Jews from service. In June 2024, [[Israel's Supreme Court]] unanimously ruled that Haredi Jews were eligible for compulsory service, ending nearly eight decades of exemption.<ref name=APNews20240625>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-25 |title=Israel's high court orders the army to draft ultra-Orthodox men, rattling Netanyahu's government |url=https://apnews.com/article/israel-politics-ruling-military-service-orthodox-e2a8359bcea1bd833f71845ee6af780d |access-date=2024-06-25 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref> The army began drafting Haredi men the following month.<ref name="TOI20240718">{{cite news |last=Fabian |first=Emanuel |date=18 July 2024 |title=IDF to begin drafting 3,000 Haredi men starting Sunday, in three waves |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-to-begin-drafting-3000-haredi-men-starting-sunday-in-three-waves/ |newspaper=Times of Israel}}</ref>

Until the draft of July 2015, men served three years in the IDF. Men drafted since July 2015 serve two years and eight months (32 months), with some roles requiring an additional four months of Permanent service. Women serve two years. The IDF women who volunteer for several combat positions often serve for three years, due to the longer period of training. Women in other positions, such as programmers, who also require lengthy training time, may also serve three years.

Many [[Religious Zionism|Religious Zionist]] men (and many [[Modern Orthodox Judaism|Modern Orthodox]] who make [[Aliyah]]) elect to do [[Hesder]], a five-year program envisioned by Rabbi [[Yehuda Amital]] which combines [[Torah learning]] and [[military service]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=This Day in Jewish History / A Yeshiva Head and Settler Who Had a Change of Heart Is Born |language=en |work=Haaretz |url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/.premium-this-day-settler-rabbi-who-had-a-change-of-heart-is-born-1.5322317 |access-date=2022-04-14 |archive-date=11 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220111145405/https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/.premium-this-day-settler-rabbi-who-had-a-change-of-heart-is-born-1.5322317 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Some distinguished soldiers are selected to be trained to eventually become members of [[Sayeret|special forces units]]. Every brigade in the IDF has its special force branch.

Career soldiers are paid on average [[Israeli new shekel|NIS]] 23,000 a month. Conscripts are paid according to four tiers based on their positions. Frontline soldiers receive NIS 3,048 a month, other combat soldiers receive NIS 2,463, combat support soldiers receive NIS 1,793, and administrative soldiers receive NIS 1,235.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Zrahiya |first=Zvi |date=6 November 2011 |title=Barak Wants to Pay Minimum Wage to IDF Conscripts |url=https://www.haaretz.com/business/barak-wants-to-pay-minimum-wage-to-idf-conscripts-1.393937 |work=[[Haaretz]] |location=Tel Aviv |access-date=7 June 2017 |archive-date=17 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120817232629/http://www.haaretz.com/business/barak-wants-to-pay-minimum-wage-to-idf-conscripts-1.393937 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/government-raises-soldiers-pay-following-major-backlash-over-high-pensions/|title=Government raises soldiers' pay following major backlash over high pensions|first=Judah Ari|last=Gross|website=[[The Times of Israel]] |issn=0040-7909}}</ref>

In 1998–2000, only about 9% of those who [[Refusal to serve in the Israeli military|refused to serve in the Israeli military]] were granted an exemption.<ref>{{cite news |last=Dayan |first=Aryeh |date=3 March 2002 |title=Pacifists are fighting hard against the draft |url=https://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/pacifists-are-fighting-hard-against-the-draft-1.51499 |work=[[Haaretz]] |location=Tel Aviv |access-date=20 July 2013 |archive-date=4 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304230627/http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/pacifists-are-fighting-hard-against-the-draft-1.51499 |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Permanent service====
Permanent service is designed for soldiers who choose to continue serving in the army after their regular service, for a short or long period, and in many cases making the military their career. Permanent service is based on a contractual agreement between the IDF and the permanent position holder.

====Reserve service====
{{main|Reserve duty (Israel)}}

After personnel complete their regular service, they are either granted permanent exemption from military service or assigned a position in the reserve forces. No distinction is made between the assignment of men and women to reserve service.

The IDF may call up reservists for:
* reserve service of up to one month every three years, until the age of 40 (enlisted) or 45 (officers). Reservists may volunteer after this age, with the approval of the Manpower Directorate.
* immediate active duty in wartime.

All Israelis who served in the IDF and are under the age of 40, unless otherwise exempt, are eligible for reserve duty. Only those who completed at least 20 days of reserve duty within the past three years are considered active reservists.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gross |first1=Judah Ari |url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/just-a-quarter-of-all-eligible-reservists-serve-in-the-idf/|title=Just a quarter of all eligible reservists serve in the IDF|website=[[The Times of Israel]]|date=30 May 2016 |access-date=29 August 2017|archive-date=29 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829172504/http://www.timesofisrael.com/just-a-quarter-of-all-eligible-reservists-serve-in-the-idf/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Non-IDF service===
Other than the civil, i.e. non-military "National Service" (''[[Sherut Leumi]]''), IDF conscripts may serve in bodies other than the IDF in several ways.

The combat option is [[Israel Border Police]] (''Magav'' – the exact translation from Hebrew means "border guard") service, part of the [[Israel Police]]. Some soldiers complete their IDF combat training and later undergo additional [[counter terror]] and Border Police training. These are assigned to Border Police units. The Border Police units fight side by side with the regular IDF combat units though to a lower capacity. They are also responsible for security in heavy urban areas such as [[Jerusalem]] and security and crime fighting in rural areas.

Non-combat services include the {{ill|Mandatrory Police Service|he|שירות חובה במשטרה}} (''Shaham'', שח"מ) program, where youth serve in the [[Israeli Police]], [[Israel Prison Service]], or other wings of the [[Israeli Security Forces]] instead of the regular army service.

===Women===
{{Main|Women in the Israel Defense Forces}}

[[File:Nightshot3332214.JPG|thumb|IDF Warrant Officers with the M16 and [[IWI X95]]; two common assault rifles of the IDF.]]
Israel is one of only a few nations that conscript women or deploy them in combat roles, although in practice, women can avoid conscription through a religious exemption and over a third of Israeli women do so.<ref>[http://forward.com/articles/121173/abuse-of-idf-exemptions-questioned/ Abuse of IDF Exemptions Questioned] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210075735/http://forward.com/articles/121173/abuse-of-idf-exemptions-questioned/ |date=10 February 2015 }} The Jewish Daily Forward, 16 December 2009</ref> As of 2010, 88% of all roles in the IDF are open to female candidates, and women could be found in 69% of all IDF positions.<ref>[http://www.idfblog.com/blog/2010/08/25/statistics-womens-service-in-the-idf-for-2010-25-aug-2010/ Statistics: Women's Service in the IDF for 2010] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150513215641/https://www.idfblog.com/blog/2010/08/25/statistics-womens-service-in-the-idf-for-2010-25-aug-2010/ |date=13 May 2015 }} IDF, 25 August 2010</ref>

According to the IDF, 535 female Israeli soldiers were killed during service in the period 1962–2016,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.719038?v=BDD11CFC5DFD7E6A2F0CD56A63DF587A|title=Israeli woman who broke barriers downed by Hezbollah rocket as 2006 combat volunteer – Israel News|newspaper=Haaretz|access-date=29 May 2016|archive-date=6 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160806094515/http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.719038?v=BDD11CFC5DFD7E6A2F0CD56A63DF587A|url-status=live}}</ref> and dozens before then. The IDF says that fewer than 4 percent of women are in combat positions. Rather, they are concentrated in "combat-support" positions which command a lower compensation and status than combat positions.<ref name="Gaza: It's a Man's War">[https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/08/gaza-a-mans-war-israel-gender/375689/ Gaza: It's a Man's War] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308050053/https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/08/gaza-a-mans-war-israel-gender/375689/ |date=8 March 2017 }} The Atlantic, 7 August 2014</ref>

Civilian pilot and aeronautical engineer Alice Miller successfully petitioned the High Court of Justice to take the Israeli Air Force pilot training exams, after being rejected on grounds of gender. Though president [[Ezer Weizman]], a former IAF commander, told Miller that she would be better off staying home and darning socks, the court eventually ruled in 1996 that the IAF could not exclude qualified women from pilot training. Even though Miller would not pass the exams, the ruling was a watershed, opening doors for women in new IDF roles. Female legislators took advantage of the momentum to draft a bill allowing women to volunteer for any position if they could qualify.<ref name="feldinger">{{cite news|author=Lauren Gelfond Feldinger|title=Skirting history|work=The Jerusalem Post|access-date=22 March 2011|date=21 September 2008|url=https://www.jpost.com/Home/Article.aspx?id=114834|archive-date=21 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221221192954/https://www.jpost.com/Home/Article.aspx?id=114834|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2000, the Equality Amendment to the Military Service law stated that the right of women to serve in any role in the IDF is equal to the right of men.<ref name=mfaWomen>{{cite web|title=Integration of women in the IDF|publisher=Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs|url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Israel+beyond+politics/Integration_women_in_IDF-March_2009|access-date=23 March 2011|date=8 March 2009|archive-date=14 November 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091114102140/http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Israel%2Bbeyond%2Bpolitics/Integration_women_in_IDF-March_2009|url-status=live}}</ref> Women have served in the military since before the founding of the state of Israel in 1948.<ref name="womenIDF">{{cite web|title=Women in the IDF|url=http://idfspokesperson.com/2011/03/07/women-in-the-idf/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110311125757/http://idfspokesperson.com/2011/03/07/women-in-the-idf/|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 March 2011|publisher=Israel Defense Forces|access-date=22 March 2011|date=7 March 2011}}</ref> Women started to enter combat support and light combat roles in a few areas, including the Artillery Corps, infantry units and armoured divisions. A few platoons named Karakal were formed for men and women to serve together in light infantry. By 2000, Karakal became a [[Caracal Battalion|full-fledged battalion]], with a second mixed-gender battalion, Lions of the Jordan (אריות הירדן, Arayot Ha-Yarden) formed in 2015. Many women also joined the [[Israeli Border Police|Border Police]].<ref name="feldinger" />

In June 2011, Maj. General [[Orna Barbivai]] became the first female major general in the IDF, replacing the head of the directorate Maj. General Avi Zamir. Barbivai stated, "I am proud to be the first woman to become a major general and to be part of an organization in which equality is a central principle. Ninety percent of jobs in the IDF are open to women and I am sure that other women will continue to break down barriers."<ref name="The Jerusalem Post">{{cite news|last=Katz|first=Yaakov|title=Orna Barbivai becomes first female IDF major general|url=https://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=226336|access-date=10 July 2012|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post|date=23 July 2011|archive-date=17 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017072546/http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=226336|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Yedioth Ahronot">{{cite news|last=Greenberg|first=Hanan|title=IDF names 1st female major-general|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4074563,00.html|access-date=10 July 2012|newspaper=Yedioth Ahronot|date=26 May 2011|archive-date=11 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411122055/https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4074563,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2013, the IDF announced they would, for the first time, allow a transgender woman to serve in the army as a female soldier.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://awiderbridge.org/transgender-in-the-idf/#sthash.ZAUcxHOz.dpuf |title=Transgender in the IDF |publisher=AWiderBridge |date=7 August 2013 |access-date=3 August 2014 |archive-date=6 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180306122521/http://awiderbridge.org/transgender-in-the-idf/#sthash.ZAUcxHOz.dpuf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Elana Sztokman notes it would be "difficult to claim that women are equals in the IDF". "And tellingly, there is only one female general in the entire IDF," she adds.<ref name="Gaza: It's a Man's War"/> In 2012, religious soldiers claimed they were promised they would not have to listen to women sing or lecture, but IAF Chief Rabbi Moshe Raved resigned because male religious soldiers were being required to do so.<ref>[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4171199,00.html Haredi soldier warns: We'll leave IDF over women's singing] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141223021953/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4171199,00.html |date=23 December 2014 }} YNET, 4 January 2012</ref> In January 2015, three women IDF singers performed in one of the IDF's units. The performance was first disrupted by fifteen religious soldiers, who left in protest and then the Master Sergeant forced the women to end the performance because it was disturbing the religious soldiers. An IDF spokesperson announced an investigation of the incident: "We are aware of the incident and already begun examining it. The exclusion of women is not consistent with the values of the IDF."<ref>[http://www.jerusalemonline.com/news/politics-and-military/military/female-soldiers-were-not-permitted-to-sing-the-national-anthem-10905 Female soldiers were not permitted to sing the national anthem] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206060530/http://www.jerusalemonline.com/news/politics-and-military/military/female-soldiers-were-not-permitted-to-sing-the-national-anthem-10905 |date=6 February 2015 }} Jerusalem Online, 11 January 2015</ref>

Defense Minister [[Moshe Ya'alon]] has also arranged for women to be excluded from recruitment centres catering to religious males.<ref>[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4586197,00.html IDF offers haredim 'women-free' recruitment centers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707025017/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4586197,00.html |date=7 July 2017 }} YNET, 31 October 2014</ref> As the IDF recruits more religious soldiers, the rights of male religious soldiers and women in the IDF come into conflict. Brig. Gen. Zeev Lehrer, who served on the chief of staff's panel of the integration of women, noted "There is a clear process of 'religionization' in the army, and the story of the women is a central piece of it. There are very strong pressures at work to halt the process of integrating women into the army, and they are coming from the direction of religion."<ref>[http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2012/10/women_in_israel_as_the_idf_becomes_more_religious_the_rights_of_female_soldiers.2.html No Touching] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150207205948/http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2012/10/women_in_israel_as_the_idf_becomes_more_religious_the_rights_of_female_soldiers.2.html |date=7 February 2015 }} Slate, 11 October 2012</ref>

[[Sex segregation]] is allowed in the IDF, which reached what it considers a "new milestone" in 2006, creating the first company of soldiers segregated in an all-female unit, the Nachshol (Hebrew for "giant wave") Reconnaissance Company. "We are the only unit in the world made up entirely of female combat soldiers," said Nachshol Company Commander Cpt. Dana Ben-Ezra. "Our effectiveness and the dividends we earn are the factors by which we are measured, not our gender."<ref>[http://www.idf.il/1283-18166-en/Dover.aspx Leading the way in gender equality] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150207212614/http://www.idf.il/1283-18166-en/Dover.aspx |date=7 February 2015 }} IDF, 27 January 2013</ref>

With the rise of social media platforms such as [[TikTok]] and [[Twitter]], some critics claim that women in the IDF are frequently used as tools of propaganda, with official military accounts frequently posting attractive young women to create a sympathetic social media presence.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Dickson |first=Ej |date=2021-05-27 |title=Why Are Israeli Defense Forces Soldiers Posting Thirst Traps on TikTok? |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/israel-defense-force-idf-tiktok-thirst-trap-1174211/ |access-date=2024-01-24 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Minorities in the IDF===
Non-Jewish minorities tended to serve in one of several special units: the [[Sword Battalion]], also known as Unit 300 or the Minorities Unit, until it was disbanded in 2015;<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.657084 | title=IDF to disband Druze battalion after more than 40 years' service | work=Haaretz | date=May 19, 2015 | access-date=2019-12-02 | author=Cohen, Gili | archive-date=2 October 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002010404/http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.657084 | url-status=live }}</ref> the Druze Reconnaissance Unit; and the Trackers Unit, composed mostly of [[Negev Bedouins]]. In 1982, the IDF general staff decided to integrate the armed forces by opening up other units to minorities, while placing some Jewish conscripts in the Minorities Unit. Until 1988, the Intelligence Corps and the Air Force remained closed to minorities.

===Druze and Circassians===
[[File:DruzeSoldier.jpg|thumb|A [[Druze]] commander of the IDF Herev battalion]]

Although Israel has a majority of Jewish soldiers, all citizens including large numbers of [[Israeli Druze|Druze]] and [[Circassians in Israel|Circassian]] men are subject to mandatory conscription.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aka.idf.il/brothers/skira/default.asp?catId=57478&docId |title=IDF human resources site |publisher=IDF |access-date=10 June 2010 |language=he |archive-date=28 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928071234/http://www.aka.idf.il/brothers/skira/default.asp?catId=57478&docId |url-status=dead }}</ref> Originally, they served in the framework of a special unit called "The Minorities' Unit", which operated until 2015 in the form of the independent Herev Gdud [[IDF Sword Battalion|("Sword") battalion]]. However, since the 1980s Druze soldiers have increasingly protested this practice, which they considered a means of segregating them and denying them access to elite units (like [[sayeret]] units). The army has increasingly admitted Druze soldiers to regular combat units and promoted them to higher ranks from which they had been previously excluded.

In 2015, Rav Aluf [[Gadi Eizenkot]] ordered the unit's closure to assimilate the Druze soldiers no differently than Jewish soldiers, as part of an ongoing reorganization of the army. Several Druze officers reached ranks as high as Major General, and many received commendations for distinguished service. In proportion to their numbers, the Druze people achieve much higher—documented—levels in the Israeli army than other soldiers. Nevertheless, some Druze still charge that discrimination continues, such as exclusion from the [[Israel Air Force|Air Force]], although the official low-security classification for Druze has been abolished for some time. The first Druze aircraft navigator completed his training course in 2005. Like all Air Force pilots, his identity is not disclosed. During the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]], many Druze who had initially sided with the Arabs deserted their ranks to either return to their villages or side with Israel in various capacities.<ref name="Gelber">{{cite news |title= Druze and Jews in the war of 1948. (Israel-Arab War of 1948–49)|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-16921885.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070528194735/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-16921885.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 May 2007|author=Gelber, Yoav |date=1 April 1995|work=Middle Eastern Studies}}</ref>

Since the late 1970s, the Druze Initiative Committee, centred at the village of [[Beit Jan]] and linked to [[Maki (political party)|Maki]], has campaigned to abolish Druze conscription.

Military service is a tradition among some of the Druze population, with most opposition in Druze communities of the [[Golan Heights]]. 83 per cent of Druze boys serve in the army, according to the IDF's statistics.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.jpost.com/Home/Article.aspx?id=129391 |title=Covenant of blood |work=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |author=Larry Derfner |date=15 January 2009 |access-date=10 June 2010 |archive-date=1 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101001060221/http://www.jpost.com/home/article.aspx?id=129391 |url-status=live }}</ref> According to the Israeli army in 2010, 369 Druze soldiers had been killed in combat operations since 1948.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dover.idf.il/IDF/News_Channels/Personal/10/10/1102.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324151019/http://dover.idf.il/IDF/News_Channels/Personal/10/10/1102.htm|archive-date=24 March 2012|title=מוכנים לטייס הדרוזי הראשון?|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

===Bedouins and Israeli Arabs===
[[File:Bedouin IDF1949.jpg|thumb|Bedouin soldiers in 1949]]
[[File:Israeli soldiers and Arabs.jpg|thumb|Israeli Arab soldiers, serving in the [[Galilee]] in 1978]]
[[File:Flickr - Israel Defense Forces - Bedouin Soldier with Schoolchild.jpg|thumb|Bedouin Desert Reconnaissance Battalion, visiting an Arab school]]

By law, all Israeli citizens are subject to conscription. The Defense Minister has complete discretion to grant exemption to individual citizens or classes of citizens. A long-standing policy dating to Israel's early years extends an exemption to all other Israeli minorities (most notably [[Israeli Arab]]s). However, there is a long-standing government policy of encouraging [[Bedouin]]s to volunteer and of offering them various inducements, and in some impoverished Bedouin communities a military career seems one of the few means of (relative) social mobility available. Also, Muslims and Christians are accepted as volunteers, even if older than 18.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aka.idf.il/brothers/skira/default.asp?catId=57479&docId= |title=IDF Human Resources site |access-date=10 June 2010 |language=he |archive-date=18 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018125909/http://www.aka.idf.il/brothers/skira/default.asp?catId=57479&docId= |url-status=dead }}</ref>

From among non-Bedouin Arab citizens, the number of volunteers for military service—some [[Arab Christians and Arabic-speaking Christians|Christian Arabs]] and even a few Muslim Arabs—is minute, and the government makes no special effort to increase it. Six Israeli Arabs have received orders of distinction as a result of their military service; of them the most famous is a Bedouin officer, Lieutenant Colonel Abd el-Majid Hidr (also known as [[Amos Yarkoni]]), who received the Order of Distinction. Vahid el Huzil was the first Bedouin to be a battalion commander.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART2/271/121.html |title=History in Tzahal the first Bedouin to be Battalion Commander |publisher=Nrg.co.il |access-date=20 July 2013 |archive-date=20 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130920223124/http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART2/271/121.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.walla.co.il/?w=/9/782336 |title=a Bedouin officer got the command on a battalion |work=News.walla.co.il |access-date=20 July 2013 |archive-date=29 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729073732/http://news.walla.co.il/?w=/9/782336 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Until the second term of [[Yitzhak Rabin]] as Prime Minister (1992–1995), social benefits given to families in which at least one member (including a grandfather, uncle, or cousin) had served at some time in the armed forces were significantly higher than to "non-military" families, which was considered a means of blatant discrimination between Jews and Arabs. Rabin led the abolition of the measure, in the teeth of strong opposition from the Right. At present, the only official advantage of military service is the attaining of security clearance and serving in some types of government positions (in most cases, security-related), as well as some indirect benefits.

Rather than perform army service, Israeli Arab youths have the option to volunteer to [[Sherut Leumi|national service]] and receive benefits similar to those received by discharged soldiers. The volunteers are generally allocated to Arab populations, where they assist with social and community matters. {{As of|2010}}, 1,473 Arabs were volunteering for national service. According to sources in the national service administration, Arab leaders are counselling youths to refrain from performing services to the state. According to a National Service official, "For years the Arab leadership has demanded, justifiably, benefits for Arab youths similar to those received by discharged soldiers. Now, when this opportunity is available, it is precisely these leaders who reject the state's call to come and do the service, and receive these benefits."<ref>[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3974580,00.html Rise in Arab National Service volunteers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303172222/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3974580,00.html |date=3 March 2016 }}, Aviel Magnezi. YNet, 25 October 2010.</ref>

Although Arabs are not obliged to serve in the IDF, any Arab can volunteer. In 2008, a Muslim Arab woman was serving as a medic with unit 669.<ref>{{Cite news|title=First female Arab soldier joins elite unit 669|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3527584,00.html|website=ynetnews.com|author=Yossi Yehoshua|date=4 April 2008|access-date=12 May 2017|archive-date=10 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010091257/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3527584,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Cpl. [[Elinor Joseph]] from [[Haifa]] became the first female Arab combat soldier for IDF.<ref>Cpl. Elinor Joseph, first female Arab combat soldier in IDF: "proud to serve" ", {{Citation needed|date=April 2011}} "I treated all the people at the checkpoints in the same manner because we are all human. For this reason, no one negatively reacted to me, and to tell the truth, that surprised me." Elinor's presence also helped change people’s perceptions, "People knew I was there and that I wouldn't hold my tongue if need be, so they had a constant reminder to treat the Palestinians well. But really, their treatment was always full of respect."</ref>

Other Arab-Muslim officers who have served in the IDF are [[Second Lieutenant]] Hisham Abu Varia<ref name="ynetFirsftOff">{{cite news|last=Pevzner|first=Yana|title=The lone Arab Soldier|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3968706,00.html|access-date=27 October 2010|newspaper=Ynet|date=13 October 2010|archive-date=31 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101031011711/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3968706,00.html?|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Major (rank)|Major]] Ala Wahib, the highest ranking Muslim officer in the IDF in 2013.<ref>{{cite news |title=An officer and a Muslim Zionist |author=Michal Yaakov Yitzhaki |url=http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=5727 |newspaper=[[Israel HaYom]] |date=7 September 2013 |access-date=20 June 2013 |archive-date=7 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210207153526/http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=5727 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In October 2012, the IDF promoted Mona Abdo to become the first female Christian Arab to the rank of combat commander. Abdo had voluntarily enlisted in the IDF, which her family had encouraged, and transferred from the [[Ordnance Corps (Israel)|Ordnance Corps]] to the [[Caracal Battalion]], a mixed-gender unit with both Jewish and Arab soldiers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.algemeiner.com/2012/10/18/israel-promotes-first-female-christian-arab-to-combat-commander/ |title=Israel Promotes First Female Christian Arab to Combat Commander |publisher=The Algemeiner |date=18 October 2012 |access-date=21 October 2012 |archive-date=22 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022221124/http://www.algemeiner.com/2012/10/18/israel-promotes-first-female-christian-arab-to-combat-commander/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2014, an increase in Israeli Christian Arabs joining the army was reported.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.573172 |title=Israeli army sees increase in Christian Arab recruits |work=Haaretz |date=9 February 2014 |access-date=11 February 2014 |archive-date=11 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140211021329/http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.573172 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Falasha makstyle.jpg|thumb|150px|An [[Beta Israel|Ethiopian-Jewish]] soldier]]
Muslim Arabs have also been drafted into the Israel Defense Forces in increasing numbers in recent years. In 2020, 606 Muslim Arabs were drafted, compared to 489 in 2019 and 436 in 2018. More than half of those who have drafted have gone into combat roles.<ref name="jpost1">{{cite web |url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/exclusive-idf-sees-sharp-increase-in-muslim-draft-674227 |title=Exclusive: IDF sees sharp increase in Muslim draft |work=JPost |first=Tal |last=Lev |date=July 18, 2021 |access-date=July 18, 2021 |archive-date=18 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220618154602/https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/exclusive-idf-sees-sharp-increase-in-muslim-draft-674227 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="greenger1">{{cite web |url=https://www.jpost.com/blogs/think-with-me/with-yahya-mahamid-an-arab-zionist-is-no-misnomer-517608 |title=With Yahya Mahamid, an Arab-Zionist is No Misnomer |work=JPost |first=Nuri |last=Greenger |date=December 10, 2017 |access-date=December 10, 2017 |archive-date=20 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220620123736/https://www.jpost.com/blogs/think-with-me/with-yahya-mahamid-an-arab-zionist-is-no-misnomer-517608 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="motchan1">{{cite web |url=https://stljewishlight.org/top-story/how-a-muslim-zionist-became-an-idf-officer-and-voice-of-peace/ |title=How a "Muslim Zionist" became an IDF officer and a voice of peace |work=Jewish Light |first=Bill |last=Mitchan |date=June 7, 2022 |access-date=June 20, 2022 |archive-date=8 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608235441/https://stljewishlight.org/top-story/how-a-muslim-zionist-became-an-idf-officer-and-voice-of-peace/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Ethiopian Jews===
The IDF carried out extended missions in [[Ethiopia]] and neighbouring states, whose purpose was to protect [[Ethiopian Jews]] (Beta Israel) and to help their immigration to Israel.<ref>''The Jewish State: The Struggle for Israel's Soul''. Yoram Hazony. 2001. Page 54</ref> The IDF adopted policies and special activities for the absorption and integration of Ethiopian immigrant soldiers, reported to have much improved the achievements and integration of those soldiers in the army, and Israeli society in general.<ref>The Beta Israel in Ethiopia and Israel: studies on Ethiopian Jews By Tudor Parfitt, Emanuela Trevisan Semi. p.170</ref><ref>Israel social science research, Volumes 10–11. Hubert H. Humphrey Center for Social Ecology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 1995. p.70</ref> Statistical research showed that the Ethiopian soldiers are esteemed as excellent soldiers and many aspire to be recruited to combat units.<ref>''Becoming Ethiopian Israelis: An Appraisal of the Adjustment of the Ethiopian Jewish Community to Israeli Society''. Ami Steinberger, Pepperdine University. 2006. p.24</ref>

===Haredim===
[[File:NetzahYehudafield.jpg|thumb|IDF soldiers of the religious [[Netzah Yehuda Battalion|97th "Netzah Yehuda" Infantry Battalion]]]]

Under a special arrangement called [[Torato Umanuto]], [[Haredi Judaism|Haredi]] men could choose to defer service while enrolled in ''[[Yeshiva|yeshivot]]'' and many avoided conscription altogether. This has given rise [[religious relations in Israel|to tensions]] between the Israeli religious and secular communities. In 2024, the [[Israel's Supreme Court|Supreme Court]] unanimously ruled that Haredi men were eligible for compulsory service and the army began drafting them.<ref name="APNews20240625"/><ref name="TOI20240718"/>

Haredi males have the option of serving in the [[Netzah Yehuda Battalion|97th "Netzah Yehuda" Infantry Battalion]]. This unit is a standard IDF infantry battalion focused on the [[Jenin]] region. To facilitate Haredi soldiers to serve, the Netzah Yehuda military bases follow the standards of [[Jewish dietary laws]]. The only women permitted on these bases were wives of soldiers and officers. Some Haredim serve in the IDF via the [[Hesder]] system, principally designed for the [[Religious Zionism|Religious Zionist]] sector. It is a 5-year program which includes 2 years of religious studies, 1½ years of military service and 1½ years of religious studies during which the soldiers can be recalled to active duty at any moment. Haredi soldiers may join other units of the IDF but rarely do. Although the IDF claims it will not discriminate against women, it is offering Haredim "[[Gender apartheid#Judaism|women free]] and secular free" recruitment centres. Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon expressed his willingness to relax regulations to meet the demands of ultra-Orthodox rabbis. Regulations regarding [[gender equality]] had already been relaxed so that Haredim could be assured that men would not receive physical exams from female medical staff.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4586197,00.html|title=IDF offers haredim 'women-free' recruitment centers|work=ynet|date=31 October 2014|access-date=8 March 2016|last1=Nachshoni|first1=Kobi|archive-date=7 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707025017/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4586197,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2024, the [[Hasmonean Brigade]], a Haredi infantry unit, was created to accommodate Haredi soldiers. In January 2025, the unit received its first 50 soldiers.<ref>{{cite news |last=Fabian |first=Emanuel |title=First 50 ultra-Orthodox soldiers drafted to IDF's new Haredi brigade |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/first-50-ultra-orthodox-soldiers-drafted-to-idfs-new-haredi-brigade/ |access-date=2025-02-09 |website=[[The Times of Israel]] |language=en-US |issn=0040-7909}}</ref>

Since the beginning of the [[Gaza war|Israel-Hamas War]], 600 Haredim have enlisted through the [[Shlav Bet]] program, an IDF recruitment track intended for Haredim over the age of 26 to complete military service.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Greenwood |first=Hanan |date=2024-02-09 |title=IDF launches fast-track haredi basic training program |url=https://www.jns.org/idf-launches-fast-track-haredi-basic-training-program/ |access-date=2025-02-09 |website=JNS.org |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-02-28 |title=החרדים לא מתגייסים לצה"ל? אלו הנתונים המפתיעים שנחשפו |url=https://www.ice.co.il/local-news/news/article/1002590 |access-date=2025-02-09 |website=Ice |language=he}}</ref>

===LGBT people===<!-- Linked to by Sexual orientation and military service#Israel-->
{{Further|Sexual orientation and gender identity in the Israeli military}}
{{Further|Sexual orientation and military service#Israel}}

Since the early 1990s, sexual identity has presented no formal barrier in terms of soldiers' military specialization or eligibility for promotion.<ref name="eichner" /><ref>Suzanne B. Goldberg, "Open Service and Our Allies: A Report on the Inclusion of Openly Gay and Lesbian Servicemembers in U.S. Allies' Armed Forces," ''William & Mary Journal of Women & Law'' (2011) v 17 pp 547–90 [http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/wmjowl/vol17/iss3/3 online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913214209/http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/wmjowl/vol17/iss3/3/ |date=13 September 2014 }}</ref>

Until the 1980s, the IDF tended to discharge soldiers who were openly gay. In 1983, the IDF permitted homosexuals to serve but banned them from intelligence and top-secret positions. A decade later, professor Uzi Even,<ref name="barbara" /> an IDF reserves officer and chairman of [[Tel Aviv University]]'s Chemistry Department, revealed that his rank had been revoked and that he had been barred from researching sensitive topics in military intelligence, solely because of his sexual orientation. His testimony to the [[Knesset]] in 1993 raised a political storm, forcing the IDF to remove such restrictions against gays.<ref name="eichner">{{cite news|last=Eichner|first=Itamar|title=Follow Israel's example on gays in the military, US study says|publisher=Ynetnews|access-date=10 June 2010|date=8 February 2007|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3362505,00.html|archive-date=27 July 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100727141804/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3362505,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The chief of staff's policy states that it is strictly forbidden to harm or hurt anyone's dignity or feeling based on their gender or sexual orientation in any way, including signs, slogans, pictures, poems, lectures, any means of guidance, propaganda, publishing, voicing, and utterance. Moreover, gays in the IDF have additional rights, such as the right to take a shower alone if they want to. According to a [[University of California, Santa Barbara]] study,<ref name="barbara">{{cite web|url=http://www.filmforum.org/films/yossi/israelstudyafs.pdf |title=Homosexuality and the Israel Defense Forces: Did Lifting the Gay Ban Undermine Military Performance? |access-date=1 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101214044435/http://www.filmforum.org/films/yossi/israelstudyafs.pdf |archive-date=14 December 2010 }}</ref> a brigadier general stated that Israelis show a "great tolerance" for gay soldiers. Consul [[David Saranga]] at the Israeli Consulate in New York, who was interviewed by the ''St. Petersburg Times'', said, "It's a non-issue. You can be a very good officer, a creative one, a brave one, and be gay at the same time."<ref name="eichner" />

A study published by the [[Israel Gay Youth]] (IGY) Movement in January 2012 found that half of the homosexual soldiers who serve in the IDF suffer from violence and homophobia, although the head of the group said "I am happy to say that the intention among the top brass is to change that."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=273609 |title=Does viral IDF Gay Pride photo show full picture? |author=Yaakov Katz |newspaper=Jerusalem Post |date=12 June 2012 |access-date=6 April 2019 |archive-date=13 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120613175207/http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=273609 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Deaf and hard-of-hearing people===
Israel is the only country in the world that requires deaf and hard-of-hearing people to serve in the military.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=11734 |title=IDF enables diabetes victims, deaf to be drafted |work=Jerusalem Post |date=31 January 2006 |access-date=3 August 2014}}</ref> Sign language interpreters are provided during training, and many of them serve in non-combat capacities such as mapping and office work. The major language spoken by the deaf and hard-of-hearing in Israel is [[Israeli Sign Language]] (also called Shassi)–a language related to [[German Sign Language]] but not Hebrew or any other local language–though Israel and Palestine are home to numerous sign languages spoken by various populations like Bedouins' [[Al-Sayyid Bedouin Sign Language]].

===Vegans===
According to a [[Care2]] report, vegans in the IDF may refuse vaccination if they oppose animal testing.<ref name="C2-20121103">{{cite web|url=http://www.care2.com/news/member/296771588/3479034|title=Israel: Veganism promoted in defence forces|date=3 November 2012|publisher=[[Care2]]|access-date=11 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121219020026/http://www.care2.com/news/member/296771588/3479034|archive-date=19 December 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> They are given artificial leather boots and a black fleece beret.<ref name="toi-vegans">{{cite news|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/army-to-begin-serving-vegan-food-in-mess-halls/|title=Army to begin serving vegan food in mess halls|author=Ginsburg, Mitch|work=[[The Times of Israel]]|date=December 28, 2014|access-date=August 21, 2018|archive-date=21 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180821125518/https://www.timesofisrael.com/army-to-begin-serving-vegan-food-in-mess-halls/|url-status=live}}</ref> Until 2014, vegan soldiers in the IDF received special allowances to buy their own food, when this policy was replaced with vegan food being provided in all bases, as well as vegan combat rations being offered to vegan combat soldiers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.defenseworld.net/news/18929/Vegan_is_Kosher_For_Israeli_Defense_Forces|title=Vegan is Kosher For Israeli Defense Forces|date=6 April 2017|publisher=Defenseworld.net|access-date=22 September 2017|archive-date=22 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922194125/http://www.defenseworld.net/news/18929/Vegan_is_Kosher_For_Israeli_Defense_Forces|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Overseas volunteers===
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2024}}
Non-immigrating foreign volunteers typically serve with the IDF in one of five ways:
* The [[Mahal (Israel)|Mahal]] program targets young non-Israeli Jews or Israeli citizens who grew up abroad (men younger than 24 and women younger than 21). The program consists typically of 18 months of IDF service, including a lengthy training for those in combat units or (for 18 months) one month of non-combat training and an additional two months of learning [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] after enlisting, if necessary. There are two additional subcategories of Mahal, both geared solely for religious men: Mahal [[Netzah Yehuda Battalion|Nahal Haredi]] (18 months), and Mahal [[Hesder]], which combines yeshiva study of 5 months with IDF service of 16 months, for a total of 21 months. Similar IDF programs exist for Israeli overseas residents. To be accepted as a Mahal Volunteer, one must be of Jewish descent (at least one Jewish grandparent).
* [[Sar-El]], an organization subordinate to the Israeli [[Logistics Corps]], provides a volunteer program for non-Israeli citizens who are 17 years or older (or 15 if accompanied by a parent). The program is also aimed at Israeli citizens, aged 30 years or older, living abroad who did not serve in the Israeli Army and who now wish to finalize their status with the military. The program usually consists of three weeks of volunteer service on different rear army bases, doing non-combative work.
* [[Garin Tzabar]] offers a program mainly for Israelis who emigrated with their parents to the United States at a young age. Although a basic knowledge of the Hebrew language is not mandatory, it is helpful. Of all the programs listed, only Garin Tzabar requires full-length service in the IDF. The program is set up in stages: first, the participants go through five seminars in their country of origin, then have an absorption period in Israel at a [[kibbutz]]. Each delegation is adopted by a kibbutz in Israel and has living quarters designated for it. The delegation shares responsibilities in the kibbutz when on military leave. Participants start the program three months before being enlisted in the army at the beginning of August.
* [[Marva]] is short-term basic training for two months.
* Lev LaChayal is a program based at [[Yeshivat Lev Hatorah]] which takes a holistic approach to preparation for service. Being as ready as possible to integrate into Israeli culture, handling the physical challenges of the military, and maintaining religious values require a multi-pronged approach. The beit midrash learning, classes, physical training, and even recreational activities are designed to allow for maximum readiness.

==Doctrine==

=== IDF Code of Ethics ===
{{Main|IDF Code of Ethics}}

In 1992, the IDF drafted a Code of Conduct that combines international law, Israeli law, Jewish heritage and the IDF's traditional ethical code—the [[IDF Spirit]] ({{langx|he|רוח צה"ל}}, ''Ru'ah Tzahal'').<ref name="idf-spirit">{{cite web|url=http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/about/doctrine/ethics.htm |title=Ethics – The IDF Spirit |publisher=[[IDF Spokesperson's Unit]] |access-date=10 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090831080829/http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/about/doctrine/ethics.htm |archive-date=31 August 2009 }}</ref>

The document defines four core values for all IDF soldiers to follow, including "defense of the state, its citizens and its residents", "love of the homeland and loyalty to the country", "human dignity" and "stateliness, as well as ten secondary values.<ref name="idf-spirit" /><ref>{{cite news |last1=Ahronheim |first1=Anna |title=IDF adds 'stateliness' as fourth military value in code of ethics |url=https://www.jpost.com/israeli-news/article-711884 |access-date=6 November 2022 |work=The Jerusalem Post |date=12 July 2022 |archive-date=5 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221105191903/https://www.jpost.com/israeli-news/article-711884 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=ערך היסוד ממלכתיות יתווסף ל'רוח צה"ל' |url=https://www.idf.il/%D7%9B%D7%AA%D7%91%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%95%D7%A2%D7%93%D7%9B%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%9D/2022/%D7%99%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%99/%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%97-%D7%A6%D7%94-%D7%9C-%D7%A6%D7%94%D7%9C-%D7%9E%D7%9E%D7%9C%D7%9B%D7%AA%D7%99%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%99%D7%99%D7%A2%D7%95%D7%93-%D7%A2%D7%A8%D7%9A-%D7%99%D7%A1%D7%95%D7%93-%D7%A8%D7%9E%D7%98%D7%9B-%D7%9C/ |website=Israel Defense Forces |access-date=6 November 2022 |language=Hebrew |date=12 July 2022 |archive-date=9 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221009062550/https://www.idf.il/%D7%9B%D7%AA%D7%91%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%95%D7%A2%D7%93%D7%9B%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%9D/2022/%D7%99%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%99/%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%97-%D7%A6%D7%94-%D7%9C-%D7%A6%D7%94%D7%9C-%D7%9E%D7%9E%D7%9C%D7%9B%D7%AA%D7%99%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%99%D7%99%D7%A2%D7%95%D7%93-%D7%A2%D7%A8%D7%9A-%D7%99%D7%A1%D7%95%D7%93-%D7%A8%D7%9E%D7%98%D7%9B-%D7%9C// |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Meir Elran |author2=Asa Kasher |title=Stateliness, IDF style |url=https://www.inss.org.il/publication/stateliness/ |publisher=The Institure for National Security Studies |access-date=6 November 2022 |date=2 August 2022 |archive-date=6 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221106141206/https://www.inss.org.il/publication/stateliness/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

"The Spirit of the IDF" (cf. supra) is still considered the only binding moral code that formally applies to the IDF troops. In 2009, [[Amos Yadlin]] (then head of [[Military Intelligence]]) suggested that the article he co-authored with [[Asa Kasher]] be ratified as a formal binding code, arguing that "the current code ['The Spirit of the IDF'] does not sufficiently address one of the army's most pressing challenges: [[asymmetric warfare]] against terrorist organizations that operate amid a civilian population".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/1.5394864|title=MI: IDF Needs New Ethics Code for War on Terror|date=30 September 2009|newspaper=Haaretz|access-date=28 June 2019|archive-date=16 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516165000/https://www.haaretz.com/1.5394864|url-status=live}}</ref>

Details of the IDF's [[rules of engagement]] remain classified.<ref name="nyt-rabin-24">{{cite news |last1=Rabin |first1=Roni Caryn |title=Israelis Question Army's Rules of Engagement After Hostages Slain |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/04/world/middleeast/israel-hamas-rules-of-engagement-hostages.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=January 4, 2024 |quote=The details of the rules of engagement — the conditions under which soldiers are permitted to open fire — are classified because publicizing them would enable enemy forces to take advantage of them, said Mr.{{nbsp}}Dinar, adding that they were consistent with international law.}}</ref>

===Targeted killing===
{{main|Targeted killing by Israel}}

Targeted killing, targeted prevention<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://elyon1.court.gov.il/Files/02/690/007/a34/02007690.a34.HTM |title=בג"ץ 769/02 |language=he |access-date=5 February 2016 |archive-date=30 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111030011111/http://elyon1.court.gov.il/files/02/690/007/a34/02007690.a34.HTM |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gRuiNWNj_yEC&q=targeted+prevention+israel&pg=PA11 |title=Targeted Killings and International Law |author=Roland Otto |isbn=9783642248580 |date=2011-12-01 |publisher=Springer |access-date=13 October 2023 |archive-date=29 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129230220/https://books.google.com/books?id=gRuiNWNj_yEC&q=targeted+prevention+israel&pg=PA11#v=snippet&q=targeted%20prevention%20israel&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> or assassination<ref name=Gross>{{cite journal |title=Assassination and Targeted Killing: Law Enforcement, Execution or Self-Defence? |first=Michael |last=Gross |url=https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5930.2006.00347.x |doi=10.1111/j.1468-5930.2006.00347.x |journal=Journal of Applied Philosophy |volume=23 |issue=3 |date=August 2006 |pages=323–335 |access-date=13 October 2023 |archive-date=29 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129230120/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-5930.2006.00347.x |url-status=live | issn = 0264-3758|url-access=subscription }}</ref> is a tactic that has been repeatedly used by the IDF and other Israeli organisations in the course of the [[Israeli–Palestinian conflict]], the [[Iran–Israel proxy conflict]] or other conflicts.<ref name=Gross/>

In 2005, [[Asa Kasher]] and [[Amos Yadlin]] co-authored a noticed article published in the ''Journal of Military Ethics'' under the title: "Military Ethics of Fighting Terror: An Israeli Perspective". The article was meant as an "extension of the classical Just War Theory", and as a "[needed] third model" or missing paradigm besides which of "classical war (army) and law enforcement (police).", resulting in a "doctrine (...) on the background of the IDF fight against acts and activities of terror performed by Palestinian individuals and organizations."<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1080/15027570510014642| title = Military Ethics of Fighting Terror: An Israeli Perspective (abstract)| date = April 2005| last1 = Kasher | first1 = A. | last2 = Yadlin | first2 = A. | journal = Journal of Military Ethics| volume = 4| issue = 1| pages = 3–32| s2cid = 144060204}}</ref>

In this article, Kasher and Yadlin concluded that [[targeted killing]]s of terrorists were justifiable, even at the cost of hitting nearby civilians. In a 2009 interview to ''[[Haaretz]]'', Asa Kasher later confirmed, pointing to the fact that in an area in which the IDF does not have effective security control (e.g., Gaza, vs. East-Jerusalem), soldiers' lives protection takes priority over avoiding injury to enemy civilians.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/the-philosopher-who-gave-the-idf-moral-justification-in-gaza-1.269527|title=The Philosopher Who Gave the IDF Moral Justification in Gaza|work=Haaretz.com|access-date=8 March 2016|archive-date=29 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151029095058/http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/the-philosopher-who-gave-the-idf-moral-justification-in-gaza-1.269527|url-status=live}}</ref> Some, along with [[Avishai Margalit]] and [[Michael Walzer]], have disputed this argument, arguing that such a position was "contrary to centuries of theorizing about the morality of war as well as international humanitarian law",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.palestine-studies.org/journals.aspx?id=10705&jid=1&href=fulltext|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111103123507/http://www.palestine-studies.org/journals.aspx?id=10705&jid=1&href=fulltext|url-status=dead|title=Khalidi,''The Most Moral Army in the World?'', Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol 39, no. 3 (Spring 2010), p. 6|archive-date=3 November 2011}}</ref> since drawing "a sharp line between combatants and noncombatants" would be "the only morally relevant distinction that all those involved in a war can agree on."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2009/05/14/israel-civilians-combatants/|title=Israel: Civilians & Combatants|first1=Michael|last1=Walzer|first2=Avishai|last2=Margalit|journal=The New York Review of Books |date=14 May 2009|volume=56 |issue=8 |via=www.nybooks.com|access-date=28 June 2019|archive-date=16 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190616053634/https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2009/05/14/israel-civilians-combatants/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Hannibal Directive===
{{main|Hannibal Directive}}

The Hannibal Directive is a controversial procedure that the IDF has used to prevent the capture of Israeli soldiers by enemy forces. It was introduced in 1986, after some abductions of IDF soldiers in Lebanon and the subsequent controversial prisoner exchanges. The full text of the directive has never been published and until 2003 [[Censorship in Israel|Israeli military censorship]] even forbade any discussion of the subject in the press. The directive has been changed several times. At one time the formulation was that "the kidnapping must be stopped by all means, even at the price of striking and harming our own forces."<ref name=Weiz>{{cite book|title=Forensic Architecture, VIOLENCE AT THE THRESHOLD OF DETECTABILITY |year=2017 |url= |author=Weizman, Eyal |isbn=9781935408864 |publisher=Zone Books |location=New York}}, page 176.</ref>

The Hannibal directive has, at times, apparently existed in two different versions, one top-secret written version, accessible only to the upper echelon of the IDF, and one "oral law" version for division commanders and lower levels. In the latter versions, "by all means" was often interpreted literally, as in "an IDF soldier was better dead than abducted". In 2011, IDF Chief of Staff [[Benny Gantz]] stated the directive does not permit the killing of IDF soldiers.<ref>{{cite news|title=Haaretz, Chief of Staff to Military Commanders: Hannibal Directive Does Not Permit Killing of Soldiers to Prevent Abduction|year=2011|author=Amos Harel|url=https://www.haaretz.co.il/news/politics/2011-11-01/ty-article/0000017f-ed21-d0f7-a9ff-efe591e30000|access-date=13 October 2023|archive-date=22 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230222151328/https://www.haaretz.co.il/news/politics/2011-11-01/ty-article/0000017f-ed21-d0f7-a9ff-efe591e30000|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Dahiya doctrine===
{{main|Dahiya doctrine}}

The Dahiya doctrine<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/display.cfm?pubID=1198 |title=From War to Deterrence? Israel-Hezbollah Conflict Since 2006 |access-date=12 January 2015 |archive-date=12 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150112235445/http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/display.cfm?pubID=1198 |url-status=dead }}</ref> is a military strategy of [[asymmetric warfare]], outlined by former IDF Chief of General Staff [[Gadi Eizenkot]], which encompasses the use of aerial and artillery fire against civilian infrastructure used by terrorist organizations<ref name=Byman>'the threat to destroy the civilian infrastructure of hostile regimes, as Israel did to the Dahiya neighbourhood of Beirut, where Hizbollah was headquartered in 2006'  Daniel Byman, [https://archive.org/details/highpricetriumph0000byma/page/364 ''A High Price: The Triumphs and Failures of Israeli Counterterrorism''], Oxford University Press, 2011 p.364</ref> and endorses the employment of "disproportionate power" to secure that end.<ref name=harelEisenkot>{{cite web|url=https://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/analysis-idf-plans-to-use-disproportionate-force-in-next-war-1.254954|title=ANALYSIS / IDF plans to use disproportionate force in next war|work=Haaretz|author=Amos Harel|date=5 October 2008|access-date=3 October 2014|archive-date=6 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006212036/http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/analysis-idf-plans-to-use-disproportionate-force-in-next-war-1.254954|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="FinallyRealizes">[http://www.ynet.co.il/english/articles/0,7340,L-3605863,00.html "The Dahya Strategy: Israel finally realizes that Arabs should be accountable for their leaders’ acts"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111224014903/http://www.ynet.co.il/english/articles/0,7340,L-3605863,00.html |date=24 December 2011 }} The Dahya strategy, according to IDF Northern Command Chief Gadi Eisenkot. Interview in Yedioth Ahronoth. 10.06.08.</ref> The doctrine is named after the [[Dahieh]] neighborhood of Beirut, where [[Hezbollah]] was headquartered during the [[2006 Lebanon War]], which were heavily damaged by the IDF.<ref name=Byman />

==Budget==
{{update|section|date=July 2024}}
During 1950–66, Israel spent an average of 9% of its GDP on defense. Defence expenditures increased dramatically after both the 1967 and 1973 wars. They reached a high of about 30% of GDP in 1975, but have since come down significantly, following the signing of peace agreements with Jordan and Egypt.<ref>[http://www.cbs.gov.il/publications16/1651/pdf/e_print.pdf ''DEFENCE EXPENDITURE IN ISRAEL 1950–2014 ''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180521104221/http://www.cbs.gov.il/publications16/1651/pdf/e_print.pdf |date=21 May 2018 }}, Central Bureau of Statistics, August 2016, page 28</ref>

In September 2009, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Finance Minister [[Yuval Steinitz]] and Prime Minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] endorsed an additional NIS 1.5&nbsp;billion for the defense budget to help Israel address problems regarding Iran. The budget changes came two months after Israel had approved its two-year budget. The defence budget in 2009 stood at NIS 48.6&nbsp;billion and NIS 53.2&nbsp;billion for 2010 – the highest amount in Israel's history. The figure constituted 6.3% of expected gross domestic product and 15.1% of the overall budget, even before the planned NIS 1.5&nbsp;billion addition.<ref name="haaretz.com">{{cite news |url=https://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/business/defense-budget-to-grow-education-spending-to-shrink-1.6974 |title=Defense budget to grow, education spending to shrink |work=Haaretz |location=Israel |author=Moti Bassok |date=30 September 2009 |access-date=9 June 2010 |archive-date=8 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100708200607/http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/business/defense-budget-to-grow-education-spending-to-shrink-1.6974 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2011, the prime minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] reversed course and moved to make significant cuts in the defence budget to pay for social programs.<ref>[http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2011/10/10/Israel-Generals-say-defense-cuts-perilous/UPI-60991318262603/ "Israel: Generals say defence cuts perilous."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011211115/http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2011/10/10/Israel-Generals-say-defense-cuts-perilous/UPI-60991318262603/ |date=11 October 2011 }} UPI, 10 October 2011.</ref> The General Staff concluded that the proposed cuts endangered the battle readiness of the armed forces.<ref>Harel, Amos. [https://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/idf-battle-readiness-to-suffer-if-budget-cut-senior-officers-warn-1.389238?localLinksEnabled=false "IDF battle readiness to suffer if budget cut, senior officers warn."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151127081051/http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/idf-battle-readiness-to-suffer-if-budget-cut-senior-officers-warn-1.389238?localLinksEnabled=false |date=27 November 2015 }} ''Haaretz'', 11 October 2011.</ref> In 2012, Israel spent $15.2&nbsp;billion on its armed forces, one of the highest ratios of defense spending to GDP among developed countries ($1,900 per person). However, Israel's spending per capita is below that of the US.<ref>[[List of countries by military expenditures]]</ref><!-- Wikipedia is not a reliable source -->

==Equipment and weaponry==
{{Main|List of equipment of the Israel Defense Forces|Defense industry of Israel}}

===Military equipment===
[[File:IAF-F-35I-and-F-16I-nf.jpg|thumb|[[Israeli Air Force]] [[F-16I]] and [[F-35I]]]]
[[File:Merkava-Tanks-Wikipedia-02.jpg|thumb|[[Merkava]] ('Chariot') – Israeli main battle tank, with 4 generations]]
The IDF possesses various foreign and domestically produced weapons and computer systems. Some gear comes from the US (with some equipment modified for IDF use) such as the [[M4A1]] and [[M16 rifle|M16]] [[assault rifle]]s, the [[M24 SWS]] 7.62&nbsp;mm [[bolt action]] [[sniper rifle]], the [[SR-25]] 7.62&nbsp;mm semi-automatic sniper rifle, the [[F-15 Eagle]] and [[F-16 Fighting Falcon]] [[warplane|fighter jets]], and the [[AH-1 Cobra]] and [[AH-64D Apache]] [[attack helicopter]]s. Israel has also developed its own independent weapons industry, which has developed weapons and vehicles such as the [[Merkava]] battle tank series, [[IAI Nesher|Nesher]] and [[IAI Kfir|Kfir]] [[fighter aircraft]], and various small arms such as the [[IMI Galil|Galil]] and [[Tavor]] [[assault rifle]]s, and the [[Uzi]] [[submachine gun]]. Israel has also installed a variant of the [[Samson RCWS]], a remote controlled weapons platform, which can include machine guns, grenade launchers, and anti-tank missiles on a remotely operated turret, in [[Bunker#Pillbox|pillboxes]] along the [[Gaza–Israel barrier]] intended to prevent [[Palestinian militant]]s from entering its territory.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/defense/index.jsp?plckController=Blog&plckScript=blogscript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3A27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post%3A344244b3-3fee-4dfc-be03-992bf38a6f19 |title=Weaponized Sentry-Tech Towers Protecting Hot Borders |publisher=Aviationweek.com |date=4 December 2008 |access-date=1 October 2010 |archive-date=29 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429010118/http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/defense/index.jsp?plckController=Blog&plckScript=blogscript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3A27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post%3A344244b3-3fee-4dfc-be03-992bf38a6f19 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.eurasiareview.com/201007134943/israels-new-video-game-executions.html |title=Israel's New 'Video Game' Executions |work=Eurasia Review |author=Palestine Chronicle |date=13 July 2010 |access-date=8 August 2010 }}{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Israel has developed observation [[Military ballooning|balloons]] equipped with sophisticated cameras and surveillance systems used to thwart terror attacks from Gaza.<ref>[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4224907,00.html "IDF observation balloon crashes near Gaza"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120506164058/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4224907,00.html |date=6 May 2012 }}, Ynet News 5 May 2012</ref> The IDF also possesses advanced [[combat engineering]] equipment which includes the [[IDF Caterpillar D9]] [[armoured bulldozer]], [[IDF Puma]] [[Combat engineering vehicle|CEV]], Tzefa Shiryon and CARPET minefield breaching rockets, and a variety of [[robot]]s and explosive devices.

The IDF has several large internal [[research and development]] departments, and it purchases many technologies produced by the Israeli security industries including [[Israel Aircraft Industries|IAI]], [[Israel Military Industries|IMI]], [[Elbit Systems]], [[Rafael Advanced Defense Systems|Rafael]], and dozens of smaller firms. Many of these developments have been battle-tested in Israel's numerous military engagements, making the relationship mutually beneficial, the IDF getting tailor-made solutions and the industries a good reputation.{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}}

In response to the price overruns on the US [[Littoral Combat Ship]] program, Israel is considering producing their own [[warship]]s, which would take a decade<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.trcb.com/news/israel/general/israel-navy-mulls-building-larger-scale-missile-ships-locally-12305.htm |title=Israel Navy mulls building larger-scale missile ships locally |work=The Jerusalem Post |author=Yaakov Katz |date=1 July 2009 |access-date=10 June 2010 |archive-date=29 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429030607/http://www.trcb.com/news/israel/general/israel-navy-mulls-building-larger-scale-missile-ships-locally-12305.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> and depend on diverting US financing to the project.<ref>{{cite web |author=Yehudah Lev Kay |url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/132104 |title=Navy Drops US Warship for Made-in-Israel Option |publisher=IsraelNationalNews.com |date=29 June 2009 |access-date=10 June 2010 |archive-date=30 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100530042110/http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/132104 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Main developments===
[[File:INS Lahav.jpg|thumb|[[Israeli Navy]] [[Sa'ar 5-class corvette]] INS ''Lahav'']]
[[File:IDF-Ground-Forces-AFVs-01.jpg|thumb|IDF's current (2017) [[armored fighting vehicle]]s, clockwise: [[IDF Namer]], [[IDF Caterpillar D9]], [[M270 MLRS]] and [[Merkava|Merkava Mk 4M]]]]
Israel's military technology is famous for its firearms,<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Tavor rifle was made for the Israeli military's unique situation – Service rifles from around the world |url=https://www.sandboxx.us/news/the-tavor-rifle-was-made-for-the-israeli-militarys-unique-situation-service-rifles-from-around-the-world/ |access-date=2024-06-22 |website=Sandboxx |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite news |url=https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/12/16/idfs-tavor-is-foreign-armies-favorite-rifle-magazine-says/ |title=IDF's Tavor is foreign armies' favorite rifle, magazine says|date=16 December 2019|access-date=2024-06-22 |website=[[Israel Hayom]]}}</ref> [[armoured fighting vehicles]] ([[tank]]s, tank-converted [[armoured personnel carrier]]s (APCs), [[armoured bulldozer]]s, etc.),<ref>{{Cite web |last=Carlin |first=Maya |date=2024-03-29 |title=Merkava: Israel Just Might Have One of the Best Tanks on Earth |url=https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/merkava-israel-just-might-have-one-best-tanks-earth-210290 |access-date=2024-06-22 |website=The National Interest |language=en}}</ref> [[unmanned aerial vehicle]]s,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Williams |first=Dan |date=2023-02-02 |title=Israel's pioneering drones use free-falling bombs, can carry a tonne |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-drones-use-free-falling-bombs-can-carry-up-tonne-2023-02-02/ |access-date=2024-09-11 |work=[[Reuters]]}}</ref> and rocketry (missiles and rockets).<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Vinograd |first1=Cassandra |last2=Bigg |first2=Matthew Mpoke |date=2024-04-14 |title=What Weapons Did Israel Use to Block Iran's Attack? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/14/world/europe/israel-iron-dome-defense.html |access-date=2024-06-22 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Israel also has manufactured aircraft including the [[IAI Kfir|Kfir]] (reserve), [[IAI Lavi]] (cancelled), and the [[IAI Phalcon]] [[Airborne early warning]] [[System]], and naval systems (patrol and missile ships). Much of the IDF's electronic systems (intelligence, communication, command and control, navigation etc.) are Israeli-developed, including many systems installed on foreign platforms (esp. aircraft, tanks and submarines), as are many of its [[precision-guided munition]]s. Israel is the world's largest exporter of [[Unmanned aerial vehicle|drone]]s.<ref name="auto1">[https://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-is-world-s-largest-exporter-of-drones-study-finds.premium-1.524771 Israel is world's largest exporter of drones, study finds] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304230631/http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-is-world-s-largest-exporter-of-drones-study-finds.premium-1.524771 |date=4 March 2014 }} ''Haaretz'', Gili Cohen Published: 19 May 2013</ref>

[[Israel Military Industries]] (IMI), as well as its former subsidiary [[Israel Weapon Industries]], are known for their firearms.<ref name=":0" /> The [[IMI Galil]], the [[Uzi]], the [[IMI Negev]] light machine gun and the new [[Tavor TAR-21]] Bullpup assault rifle are used by the IDF. The [[Rafael Advanced Defense Systems]] [[Spike (missile)|Spike missile]] is one of the most widely exported [[anti-tank missile|ATGM]]s in the world.<ref name="auto3">[http://www.army-technology.com/projects/gill Spike Anti-Tank Missile, Israel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020325015701/http://www.army-technology.com/projects/gill/ |date=25 March 2002 }} army-technology.com</ref>

Israel's [[Arrow (Israeli missile)|Arrow]] anti-ballistic missile system, jointly funded and produced by Israel and the United States, has successfully conducted combat intercepts of incoming ballistic missile attacks.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Frantzman |first=Seth J. |date=2023-11-09 |title=Arrow 3 air defense system notches first successful intercept |url=https://breakingdefense.sites.breakingmedia.com/2023/11/arrow-3-air-defense-system-notches-first-successful-intercept/ |access-date=2024-06-22 |website=Breaking Defense |language=en-US }}{{Dead link|date=November 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The [[Iron Dome]] system against short-range [[rocket]]s is operational and proved to be successful, intercepting hundreds of [[Qassam rocket|Qassam]], [[BM-21 Grad|122 mm Grad]] and [[Fajr-5]] artillery [[Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel|rockets fire by Palestinian militants]] from the Gaza Strip.<ref name=Johnson>{{cite news|title=How Israel Developed Such A Shockingly Effective Rocket Defense System|author=Robert Johnson|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/how-israel-developed-the-iron-dome-2012-11?op=1#ixzz2Cme6aQn5|work=Business Insider|date=19 November 2012|access-date=20 November 2012|archive-date=25 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725033231/https://www.businessinsider.com/how-israel-developed-the-iron-dome-2012-11?op=1#ixzz2Cme6aQn5|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Tory>{{cite news|title=A Missile-Defense System That Actually Works?|author=Sarah Tory|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2012/11/israel_iron_dome_defense_how_has_missile_defense_changed_battle_in_gaza.html|work=Slate|date=19 November 2012|access-date=20 November 2012|archive-date=20 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121120092129/http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2012/11/israel_iron_dome_defense_how_has_missile_defense_changed_battle_in_gaza.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[David's Sling]], an anti-missile system designed to counter [[Medium-range ballistic missile|medium range rocket]]s, became operational in 2017. Israel has also worked with the US on the development of a tactical high energy [[laser]] system against medium-range rockets (called Nautilus or [[THEL]]). [[Iron Beam]] is a short-range laser beam air defence system, created to eliminate rockets, artillery, and mortar bombs. With a range of several kilometres, it complements the Iron Dome system, which is specifically designed for intercepting missiles launched from greater distances.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Iron Beam: How Israel's New Laser Weapon Works |url=https://www.wsj.com/video/series/news-explainers/iron-beam-how-israels-new-laser-weapon-works/7FEDC20F-B080-4E7E-B3C7-832702D5F191 |access-date=2024-02-29 |website=WSJ |language=en-US}}</ref>

Israel has the independent capability of launching [[reconnaissance satellites]] into orbit, a capability shared with Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, South Korea, Italy, Germany, the People's Republic of China, India, Japan, Brazil and Ukraine. Israeli security industries developed both the satellites ([[Ofeq]]) and the launchers ([[Shavit 2|Shavit]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/kent-csi/vol44no5/html/v44i5a04p.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100426215752/https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/kent-csi/vol44no5/html/v44i5a04p.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=26 April 2010 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |title=Israel's Quest for Satellite Intelligence |last=Zorn |first=E. L. |date=8 May 2007 |access-date=19 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=64499 |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |title=Analysis: Eyes in the sky |last=Katz |first=Yaakov |date=11 June 2007 |access-date=20 March 2012 |archive-date=14 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114031411/http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=64499 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Israel is known to have developed [[Nuclear weapons and Israel|nuclear weapons]].<ref name="fas-nuke">{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/nuke/guide/israel/nuke/ |title=Nuclear Weapons – Israel |publisher=Federation of American Scientists |access-date=22 September 2010 |archive-date=12 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190912071921/https://fas.org/nuke/guide/israel/nuke/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Israel [[Policy of deliberate ambiguity|does not officially acknowledge]] its nuclear weapons program. It is thought Israel possesses between one hundred and four hundred nuclear warheads.<ref name="fas-nuke"/><ref>Brower, Kenneth S., "A Propensity for Conflict: Potential Scenarios and Outcomes of War in the Middle East," [[Jane's Intelligence Review]], Special Report no. 14, (February 1997), 14–15. Brower notes that he is making a high estimate of the number of weapons.</ref> It is believed that [[Jericho (missile)|Jericho intercontinental ballistic missiles]] are capable of delivering nuclear warheads with a superior degree of accuracy and a range of 11,500&nbsp;km.<ref name="cns.miis.edu">[http://cns.miis.edu/opapers/op7/op7.pdf Missile Proliferation and Defences: Problems and Prospects] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611081741/http://cns.miis.edu/opapers/op7/op7.pdf |date=11 June 2011 }}. (PDF). Retrieved 4 June 2011.</ref> Israeli [[F-15I]] and [[F-16]] fighter-bomber aircraft also have been cited as possible nuclear delivery systems (these aircraft types are nuclear capable in the [[US Air Force]]).<ref>[http://www.cdi.org/nuclear/database/isnukes.html#f16 F-16 Falcon] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110603233606/http://www.cdi.org/nuclear/database/isnukes.html |date=3 June 2011 }}. Cdi.org. Retrieved 4 June 2011.</ref><ref>[http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200208/20/eng20020820_101736.shtml Israel's F-16 Warplanes Likely to Carry Nuclear Weapons: Report] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605162511/http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200208/20/eng20020820_101736.shtml |date=5 June 2011 }}. English.peopledaily.com.cn (20 August 2002). Retrieved 4 June 2011.</ref><ref name=OTA-ISC-559>{{Cite book|url=http://www.princeton.edu/~ota/disk1/1993/9341/9341.PDF |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.princeton.edu/~ota/disk1/1993/9341/9341.PDF |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction: Assessing the Risks|publisher=[[U.S. Congress]] [[Office of Technology Assessment]]|date=August 1993|id=OTA-ISC-559|access-date=9 December 2008}}</ref> The [[U.S. Air Force]] [[F-15E]] has [[tactical nuclear weapon]] (B61 and B83 bombs) capability.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://thebulletin.metapress.com/content/82558p4j65585158/fulltext.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110521144312/http://thebulletin.metapress.com/content/82558p4j65585158/fulltext.pdf |archive-date=2011-05-21 |url-status=live|title=U.S. nuclear weapons in Europe, 1954–2004|author=Robert S. Norris and Hans M. Kristensen|date=November–December 2004|publisher=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists|access-date=11 June 2009}}</ref> It has been asserted that [[Dolphin-class submarine]]s have been adapted to carry [[Popeye Turbo]] [[Submarine-launched cruise missile]]s with nuclear warheads, so as to give Israel a [[second strike]] capacity.<ref>{{cite web |last=Plushnick |first=Ramit |url=http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2006/08/25/israel_buys_2_nuclear_capable_submarines_from_germany/ |title=Israel buys 2 nuclear-capable submarines from Germany |work=The Boston Globe |date=25 August 2006 |access-date=20 July 2013 |archive-date=3 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103101901/http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2006/08/25/israel_buys_2_nuclear_capable_submarines_from_germany/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=J'lem and Berlin sign contract for sixth submarine|newspaper=Jerusalem Post|date=5 February 2012|url=https://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=256494|access-date=5 February 2012|archive-date=5 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205114828/http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=256494|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2006, Israel deployed the [[Wolf Armoured Vehicle]] [[Armoured personnel carrier|APC]] for use in [[urban warfare]] and to protect [[VIP]]s.

===Field rations===
[[Field ration]]s, called ''manot krav'', usually consist of canned [[tuna]], [[sardines]], [[beans]], [[sarma (food)|stuffed vine leaves]], [[maize]] and [[fruit cocktail]] and bars of [[halva]]. Packets of fruit-flavoured drink powder are provided along with condiments like [[ketchup]], [[Mustard (condiment)|mustard]], chocolate spread and jam. Around 2010, the IDF announced that certain freeze-dried [[MRE]]s served in water-activated disposable heaters like [[goulash]], turkey [[schwarma]] and [[meatballs]] would be introduced as field rations.<ref>{{cite web| last = Steinberg| first = Jessica| title = The rationale behind the rations| website = [[The Times of Israel]]| date = 20 November 2012| access-date = 2018-09-20| url = http://www.timesofisrael.com/the-rationale-behind-the-rations/| archive-date = 19 August 2014| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140819102909/http://www.timesofisrael.com/the-rationale-behind-the-rations/| url-status = live}}</ref>

One staple of these rations was ''[[Spam (food)#Israel|loof]]'', a type of Kosher [[Spam (food)|spam]] made from chicken or beef that was phased out around 2008.<ref>{{cite web| title = 6 things you never knew about Spam| work = The Daily Meal| format = Text.Article| access-date = 2018-09-20| date = 2016-09-28| url = https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/6-things-you-never-knew-about-spam/| archive-date = 20 September 2018| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180920122557/http://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/2016/09/28/6-things-never-knew-about-spam.html| url-status = live}}</ref> Food historian Gil Marks has written that: "Many Israeli soldiers insist that Loof uses all the parts of the cow that the hot dog manufacturers will not accept, but no one outside of the manufacturer and the kosher supervisors know what is inside."<ref>{{cite web| title = Kosher Spam: a Breef history| work = Jewish Telegraphic Agency| access-date = 2018-09-20| date = 2011-11-20| url = https://www.jta.org/2011/11/20/the-archive-blog/kosher-spam-a-breef-history| archive-date = 5 July 2018| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180705063334/https://www.jta.org/2011/11/20/the-archive-blog/kosher-spam-a-breef-history| url-status = live}}</ref>

===Development plans===
{{See also|Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Israeli procurement}}[[File:Merkeva Mk 4M - Israeli Tanks 2019-04-21 IZE-42.jpg|thumb|A profile of a Merkava Mk 4M tank, armed with an [[IMI 120 mm gun]], a [[M2 Browning]] .50-cal, a [[7.62x51 mm NATO]] commander's [[FN MAG]], and equipped with the [[Trophy (countermeasure)|Trophy active protection system]]]]
[[File:IAF-F-35I-2016-12-13 (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Israeli Air Force]] [[Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Israeli procurement|F-35I Adir]]]]
The IDF is planning several technological upgrades and structural reforms for the future of its land, air, and sea branches. Training has been increased, including cooperation between ground, air, and naval units.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.659849|title=Analysis The Israeli Army's New Target: Itself|work=Haaretz.com|access-date=8 March 2016|archive-date=4 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404020438/http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.659849|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Israeli Army is phasing out the M-16 rifle from all ground units in favor of the [[IMI Tavor]] variants, most recently the [[IWI X95|IWI Tavor X95 flat-top]] ("Micro-Tavor Dor Gimel").<ref>Jerusalem Post: ''IDF phasing out M-16 in favor of Israeli-made Tavor'' (19 December 2012)</ref> The IDF is replacing its outdated [[M113 armored personnel carrier]]s in favor of new [[Namer]] APCs, with 200 ordered in 2014, the [[Eitan AFV]], and is upgrading its [[IDF Achzarit]] APCs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.janes.com/article/51098/israel-to-upgrade-more-achzarit-apcs|title=Israel to upgrade more Achzarit APCs|access-date=8 March 2016|archive-date=20 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151220065011/http://www.janes.com/article/51098/israel-to-upgrade-more-achzarit-apcs|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4573814,00.html|title=Ya'alon approves addition of 200 advanced APCs for the IDF|work=ynet|date=22 September 2014|access-date=8 March 2016|last1=Yehoshua|first1=Yossi|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303224543/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4573814,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The IDF announced plans to streamline its military bureaucracy so as to better maintain its reserve force, which a 2014 State Comptroller report noted was under-trained and may not be able to fulfill wartime missions. As part of the plans, 100,000 reservists will be discharged, and training for the remainder will be improved. The officer corps will be slashed by 5,000. Infantry and light artillery brigades will be reduced to increase training standards among the rest.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4639799,00.html|title=IDF to create smaller, better-trained reserve force|work=ynet|date=22 March 2015|access-date=8 March 2016|last1=Yehoshua|first1=Yossi|archive-date=8 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308021851/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4639799,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The IDF is planning a future tank to replace the Merkava. The new tank will be able to fire lasers and electromagnetic pulses, run on a hybrid engine, run with a crew as small as two, will be faster, and will be better protected, with emphasis on protection systems such as the Trophy over armour.<ref>Jerusalem Post: ''The IDF's future tank: Electromagnetic cannon''</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Winer |first1=Stuart |url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-to-discharge-100000-reservists-slash-officer-corps/|title=IDF to discharge 100,000 reservists, slash officer corps|work=The Times of Israel|date=16 June 2015 |access-date=8 March 2016|archive-date=21 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160221210606/http://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-to-discharge-100000-reservists-slash-officer-corps/|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Combat Engineering Corps]] assimilated new technologies, mainly in tunnel detection and [[unmanned ground vehicle]]s and [[military robot]]s, such as remote-controlled [[IDF Caterpillar D9]]T "Panda" armoured bulldozers, Sahar engineering scout robot and improved [[Remotec ANDROS]] robots.

The [[Israeli Air Force]] will purchase as many as 100 [[Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II|F-35 Lightning II]] fighter jets from the United States. The aircraft will be modified and designated F-35I. They will use Israeli-built electronic warfare systems, outer wings, guided bombs, and air-to-air missiles.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/lockheed-awarded-207-million-contract-to-incorporate-israeli-specific-f-35-systems-375899/ |title=Lockheed awarded $207 million contract to incorporate Israeli-specific F-35 systems |publisher=Flightglobal.com |date=29 August 2012 |access-date=20 July 2013 |archive-date=29 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729083010/http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/lockheed-awarded-207-million-contract-to-incorporate-israeli-specific-f-35-systems-375899/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>[http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=defense&id=news/awst/2010/08/23/AW_08_23_2010_p32-249396.xml] {{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/158594#.UTPFZzCG0j4 |title=Panetta's Visit Sealed F-35 Jet Sale to Israel |date=5 August 2012 |publisher=Israel National News |access-date=20 July 2013 |archive-date=25 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130625005530/http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/158594#.UTPFZzCG0j4 |url-status=live }}</ref> As part of a 2013 arms deal, the IAF will purchase [[Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker|KC-135 Stratotanker]] aerial refueling aircraft and [[Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey|V-22 Osprey]] multi-mission aircraft from the United States, as well as advanced radars for warplanes and missiles designed to take out radars.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4369684,00.html |title=Israel to buy new missiles, refuelling planes from US |newspaper=Ynetnews |date=19 April 2013 |publisher=Ynetnews.com |access-date=20 July 2013 |last1=Benhorin |first1=Yitzhak |archive-date=21 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130621094559/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4369684,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In April 2013, an Israeli official stated that within 40–50 years, piloted aircraft would be phased out of service by [[unmanned aerial vehicles]] capable of executing nearly any operation that can be performed by piloted combat aircraft. Israel's military industries are reportedly on the path to developing such technology in a few decades. Israel will also manufacture tactical satellites for military use.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4370514,00.html |title=Israel says drones to eventually replace manned aircraft |newspaper=Ynetnews |date=21 April 2013 |publisher=Ynetnews.com |access-date=20 July 2013 |archive-date=16 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130716043058/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4370514,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Israeli Navy]] is currently expanding its submarine fleet, with a planned total of six [[Dolphin class submarine]]s. Currently, five have been delivered, with the sixth, INS Drakon, expected to be delivered in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Name of newest Israeli submarine changed amid criticism|url=https://www.bairdmaritime.com/work-boat-world/maritime-security-world/naval/submersibles-naval/name-of-newest-israeli-submarine-changed-amid-criticism/|date=2019-01-10|website=Baird Maritime|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-26|archive-date=2 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802014652/https://www.bairdmaritime.com/work-boat-world/maritime-security-world/naval/submersibles-naval/name-of-newest-israeli-submarine-changed-amid-criticism/|url-status=live}}</ref> It is also upgrading and expanding its surface fleet. It is planning to upgrade the electronic warfare systems of its [[Sa'ar 5-class corvette]]s and [[Sa'ar 4.5 class missile boat]]s,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/naval/ships/2015/06/28/israel-navy-to-upgrade-combat-surface-fleet-saar/29277241/|title=Israel Navy To Upgrade Combat Surface Fleet|date=28 June 2015|work=Defense News|access-date=8 March 2016|archive-date=29 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129230648/https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2015/06/28/israel-navy-to-upgrade-combat-surface-fleet/|url-status=live}}</ref> and has ordered two new classes of warship: the [[Sa'ar 6-class corvette]] (a variant of the [[Braunschweig-class corvette]]) and the [[Sa'ar 72-class corvette]], an improved and enlarged version of the Sa'ar 4.5-class. It plans to acquire four Saar 6-class corvettes and three Sa'ar 72-class corvettes. Israel is also developing marine artillery, including a gun capable of firing satellite-guided 155mm rounds between 75 and 120 kilometres.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://gantdaily.com/2012/04/02/israel-navy-mulling-purchasing-south-korean-ships-built-by-hyundai/ |title=Israel Navy Mulling Purchasing South Korean Ships built by Hyundai |publisher=GantDaily.com |date=2 April 2012 |access-date=20 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724200000/http://gantdaily.com/2012/04/02/israel-navy-mulling-purchasing-south-korean-ships-built-by-hyundai/ |archive-date=24 July 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

==Foreign military relations==

===France===
{{Further|France–Israel relations}}
Starting on 14 May 1948 (5 Iyar 5708), when Israel became a sovereign state, a strong military, commercial and political relationship was established between France and Israel, which lasted until 1969. Between 1956 and 1966, the two countries had the highest level of military collaboration.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Bomb in the Basement: How Israel Went Nuclear and What That Means for the World |last1=Karpin |first1=Michael |publisher=Simon & Schuster |date=2007 |isbn=978-0-7432-6595-9}}</ref>

===United States===
{{Main|Israel–United States military relations}}

[[File:Gen. Martin E. Dempsey meets with Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz.jpg|thumb|Former IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz (right) meets with [[Martin Dempsey]] (left), Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.]]
[[File:US Navy 050415-M-9114Y-008 Marines assigned to the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (special operations capable) along Israeli Defense Force soldiers fast rope from a CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter.jpg|thumb|Israeli soldiers training alongside the [[26th Marine Expeditionary Unit]] on the [[USS Kearsarge (LHD-3)|USS ''Kearsarge'']]]]

In 1983, the United States and Israel established a [[Joint Political Military Group]], which convenes twice a year. Both the U.S. and Israel participate in joint military planning and combined exercises and have collaborated on military research and weapons development. Additionally the [[Military of the United States|U.S. military]] maintains two classified, pre-positioned [[War Reserve Stock]]s in Israel valued at $493&nbsp;million.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} Israel has the official distinction of being an American [[Major non-NATO ally]].
Since 1976, Israel had been the largest annual recipient of U.S. foreign assistance. In 2009, Israel received $2.55&nbsp;billion in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) grants from the Department of Defense.<ref name="fas2006-10"/> All but 26% of this military aid is for the purchase of military hardware from American companies only.<ref name="fas2006-10">{{cite web|first=Jeremy M. |last=Sharp |title=CRS report for Congress: U.S. foreign aid to Israel |publisher=[[Federation of American Scientists]] |date=4 December 2009 |access-date=8 June 2010 |url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33222.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150731092044/http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33222.pdf |archive-date=31 July 2015 }}</ref>

In October 2012, the United States and Israel began their biggest joint air and missile defence exercise, known as [[2012 US-Israel military exercise|Austere Challenge 12]], involving around 3,500 U.S. troops in the region along with 1,000 IDF personnel.<ref>[http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/10/2012102195738284839.html US and Israel launch joint military drill] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208205129/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/10/2012102195738284839.html |date=8 February 2015 }}, Al Jazeera 21 October 2012</ref> Germany and Britain also participated.<ref>{{cite web|last=Capaccio |first=Tony |url=http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-10-15/u-dot-s-dot-israeli-military-exercise-sending-message-to-iran |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017063145/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-10-15/u-dot-s-dot-israeli-military-exercise-sending-message-to-iran |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 October 2012 |title=U.S.-Israeli Military Exercise Sending Message to Iran |work=BusinessWeek |date=15 October 2012 |access-date=20 July 2013}}</ref>

Since mid-2017, the United States has operated an anti-missile system in the [[Negev]] region of Southern Israel, which is manned by 120 US Army personnel. It is a facility used by the U.S. inside a larger [[Mashabei Sadeh|Mashabim]] Israeli Air Force base.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/in-first-us-establishes-permanent-military-base-in-israel/|title=In first, US establishes permanent military base in Israel|last=Gross|first=Judah Ari|website=[[The Times of Israel]]|language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-21|archive-date=10 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190510023119/http://www.timesofisrael.com/in-first-us-establishes-permanent-military-base-in-israel/|url-status=live |issn=0040-7909}}</ref>

===India===
{{Further|India–Israel relations}}
India and Israel enjoy strong military and strategic ties.<ref>{{cite web |author=Riedel, Bruce |url=http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2008/0321_india_riedel.aspx |title=Israel & India: New Allies |publisher=Brookings.edu |date=21 March 2008 |access-date=1 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100608082333/http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2008/0321_india_riedel.aspx |archive-date=8 June 2010 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Israeli authorities consider Indian citizens to be the most pro-Israel people in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ynet.co.il/english/articles/0,7340,L-3696887,00.html |title=ynet article |publisher=ynet article |date=20 June 1995 |access-date=1 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120919150737/http://www.ynet.co.il/english/articles/0,7340,L-3696887,00.html |archive-date=19 September 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://netwmd.com/blog/2009/04/22/3955|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100627171901/http://netwmd.com/blog/2009/04/22/3955|url-status=dead|title=netwmd – India, the Most Pro-Israel Country|archivedate=27 June 2010|website=netwmd.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=140suffolk |url=http://digg.com/world_news/India_the_Most_Pro_Israel_Country |title=digg article |publisher=digg article |date=21 April 2009 |access-date=1 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100722141449/http://digg.com/world_news/India_the_Most_Pro_Israel_Country |archive-date=22 July 2010 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://dover.idf.il/NR/exeres/D9D64F57-94C0-44F3-AE59-6A9C3E2E49BA.htm |title=A Little Piece of New Delhi in Haifa |publisher=Dover.idf.il |access-date=1 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515003327/http://dover.idf.il/NR/exeres/D9D64F57-94C0-44F3-AE59-6A9C3E2E49BA.htm |archive-date=15 May 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref name="JINSA01">{{cite web|url=http://www.jinsa.org/articles/articles.html/function/view/categoryid/1948/documentid/1971/history/3%2C2360%2C1947%2C1948%2C1971 |title=India and Israel Forge a Solid Strategic Alliance |access-date=7 November 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061107084915/http://www.jinsa.org/articles/articles.html/function/view/categoryid/1948/documentid/1971/history/3%2C2360%2C1947%2C1948%2C1971 |archive-date=7 November 2006 }} by Martin Sherman, The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs</ref> Apart from being Israel's second-largest economic partner in Asia,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ficci.com/international/countries/israel/israel-commercialrelations.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070103015020/http://www.ficci.com/international/countries/israel/israel-commercialrelations.htm |archive-date=3 January 2007 |title=India-Israel Economic and Commercial Relations |publisher=Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry |access-date=9 June 2010}}</ref> India is also the largest customer of Israeli arms in the world.<ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=http://www.hindu.com/2009/02/16/stories/2009021658931100.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221053507/http://hindu.com/2009/02/16/stories/2009021658931100.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 February 2009 |title=Israel largest defence supplier to India: report |date=16 February 2009 |work=[[The Hindu]] |access-date=1 June 2010}}</ref> In 2006, annual military sales between India and Israel stood at US$900 million, totalling around {{US dollar|4200000000|2001|link=yes}} for the past two decades of arms trade.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3310835,00.html |title=Israel arms sales to India top USD 900 million a year |publisher=Yedioth Internet |date=4 October 2006 |access-date=9 June 2010 |archive-date=13 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513093131/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3310835,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=FOUNDATION |first=OBSERVER RESEARCH |title=The deepening of India–Israel defence ties |url=https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/the-deepening-of-india-israel-defence-ties |access-date=2025-09-05 |website=orfonline.org |language=en}}</ref> Israeli defense firms had the largest exhibition at the 2009 [[Aero India]] show, during which Israel offered several state-of-the art weapons to India.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.defensenews.com/osd_story.php?i=3944502 |title=Israeli Exhibit Among Largest at Show |publisher=Defensenews.com |access-date=1 June 2010 }}{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

The first major military deal between the two countries was the sale of Israeli [[EL/M-2075|Phalcon]] [[Airborne early warning and control|airborne warning and control system]] (AWACS) radars to the [[Indian Air Force]] in 2004.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://in.rediff.com/news/2004/mar/05phal.htm |title=India, Israel ink the Phalcon deal |publisher=In.rediff.com |date=6 March 2004 |access-date=1 June 2010 |archive-date=1 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501002120/http://in.rediff.com/news/2004/mar/05phal.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.jpost.com/International/India-to-finally-receive-Phalcon-AWACS|title=India to finally receive Phalcon AWACS – World News – Jerusalem Post|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post &#124; Jpost.com|access-date=30 May 2019|archive-date=30 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530033741/https://www.jpost.com/International/India-to-finally-receive-Phalcon-AWACS|url-status=live}}</ref> In March 2009, India and Israel signed a US$1.4&nbsp;billion deal under which Israel would sell India an advanced air-defense system.<ref>{{cite web |author=PTI Date: 27 March 2009 Place: Jerusalem |url=http://www.mid-day.com/news/2009/mar/270309-India-Israel-sign-deal-on-air-defence-system.htm |title=India, Israel sign $1.4 bn deal on air defence system |publisher=Mid-day.com |date=27 March 2009 |access-date=1 June 2010 |archive-date=20 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090820090853/http://www.mid-day.com/news/2009/mar/270309-India-Israel-sign-deal-on-air-defence-system.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> India and Israel have also embarked on extensive space cooperation. In 2008, India's [[ISRO]] launched Israel's most technologically advanced [[spy satellite]] [[TecSAR]].<ref name="jpost-tecsar">{{cite news|url=https://www.jpost.com/Israel/Spy-satellite-launched-from-India|title=Spy satellite launched from India|author=Katz, Yaakov|work=[[The Jerusalem Post]]|date=January 21, 2008|access-date=August 21, 2018|archive-date=21 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180821191903/https://www.jpost.com/Israel/Spy-satellite-launched-from-India|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2009, India reportedly developed a high-tech spy satellite [[RISAT-2]] with significant assistance from Israel.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/03/21/india.satellite/index.html?iref=mpstoryview |title=India to launch Israel-backed satellite |publisher=CNN |date=21 March 2009 |access-date=1 June 2010 |archive-date=23 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180623221917/http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/03/21/india.satellite/index.html?iref=mpstoryview |url-status=live }}</ref> The satellite was successfully launched by India in April 2009.<ref>{{cite web |author=IANS |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ISRO-launches-spy-satellite-RISAT-2/articleshow/4422951.cms |title=Spy satellite RISAT takes off from Sriharikota |work=The Times of India |date=20 April 2009 |access-date=10 June 2010 |archive-date=23 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090423075323/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ISRO-launches-spy-satellite-RISAT-2/articleshow/4422951.cms |url-status=live }}</ref>

According to a [[Los Angeles Times]] news story, the [[2008 Mumbai attacks]] were an attack on the growing India-Israel partnership. It quotes retired Indian [[Vice admiral (India)|Vice Admiral]] Premvir S. Das thus "Their aim was to... tell the Indians clearly that your growing linkage with Israel is not what you should be doing..."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-india-israel1-2009feb01,0,4924558.story |title=Some see Mumbai terrorism as an attack on India–Israel ties |work=Los Angeles Times |date=1 February 2009 |access-date=1 June 2010 |first=Peter |last=Spiegel |archive-date=8 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090308123450/http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-india-israel1-2009feb01,0,4924558.story |url-status=live }}</ref> In the past, India and Israel have held numerous joint anti-terror training exercises<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/india-israel-likely-to-hold-joint-antiterror-training-exercises/360288/ |title=India, Israel likely to hold joint anti-terror training exercises |work=The Indian Express |date=12 September 2008 |access-date=28 March 2009 |archive-date=16 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916111458/http://www.indianexpress.com/news/India-Israel-likely-to-hold-joint-antiterror-training-exercises/360288/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Despite regional crisis and ongoing [[Gaza war]], defence supply lines to India remained active in 2023-24, as political ties and defence buyers kept the relationship operational.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Kaushik |first1=Krishn |last2=Kaushik |first2=Krishn |date=2024-02-23 |title=Israel's military exports to top buyer India unaffected by Gaza war |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/israels-military-exports-top-buyer-india-unaffected-by-gaza-war-2024-02-23/ |access-date=2025-09-05 |work=Reuters |language=en}}</ref>

===Germany===
{{Further|Germany–Israel relations}}
[[File:I.n.s. dolfin-03.JPG|thumb|A German-made [[Dolphin class submarine]]]]
Germany developed the [[Dolphin-class submarine|Dolphin submarine]] and supplied it to Israel. Two submarines were donated by Germany.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/germany-may-sell-2-more-dolphin-subs-to-israel-for-117b-01528/ |title=Defense Industry Daily |publisher=Defense Industry Daily |date=15 July 2013 |access-date=20 July 2013 |archive-date=22 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130722151432/http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/germany-may-sell-2-more-dolphin-subs-to-israel-for-117b-01528/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The military co-operation has been discreet but mutually profitable: [[Israeli intelligence]], for example, sent captured [[Warsaw Pact]] armor to West Germany to be analyzed. The results aided the German development of an [[Anti-tank warfare|anti-tank system]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article3564572.ece |title=Israel welcomes new Germany to a celebration of its 60th birthday |work=The Times |author=Roger Boyes |date=17 March 2008 |access-date=9 June 2010 |location=London |archive-date=29 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429092503/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article3564572.ece |url-status=dead }}</ref> Israel also trained members of [[GSG 9]], a German counter-terrorism and special operations unit.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bundespolizei.de/DE/06Die-Bundespolizei/Organisation/BPOLP/GSG9/Berichte/40-jahre-gsg9.html |title=Bundespolizei – GSG 9 der Bundespolizei – 40 Jahre GSG 9 der Bundespolizei |access-date=8 September 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102085725/http://www.bundespolizei.de/DE/06Die-Bundespolizei/Organisation/BPOLP/GSG9/Berichte/40-jahre-gsg9.html |archive-date=2 November 2014 }}</ref> The Israeli [[Merkava|Merkava MK IV]] tank uses a German [[V12 engine]] produced under license.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://articles.janes.com/articles/Janes-Armour-and-Artillery-Upgrades/Israel-Military-Industries-120-mm-smoothbore-tank-gun-MG251-Israel.html |title=Defense & Security Intelligence & Analysis: IHS Jane's &#124; IHS |publisher=Articles.janes.com |access-date=20 July 2013 |archive-date=16 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116084424/http://articles.janes.com/articles/Janes-Armour-and-Artillery-Upgrades/Israel-Military-Industries-120-mm-smoothbore-tank-gun-MG251-Israel.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2008, the website DefenseNews revealed that Germany and Israel had been jointly developing a nuclear warning system, Operation Bluebird.<ref name='israel_germany_nukes1'>{{cite news |last=Defense News Staff |title=Israel Seeks Missile-Sensing UAV |date=3 November 2008 |publisher=DefenseNews.com |url=http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=3800042 |work=Defense News |access-date=10 June 2010 }}{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref name='israel_germany_nukes2'>{{cite news |first=Yaakov |last=Lappin |title=Israel, Germany develop nuclear warning system |date=17 November 2008 |url=https://www.jpost.com/Home/Article.aspx?id=120776 |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |access-date=10 June 2010 |archive-date=29 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129230309/https://ssum-sec.casalemedia.com/usermatch?d=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jpost.com%2F&s=184674&cb=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.indexww.com%2Fht%2Fhtw-pixel.gif%3F |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Israeli Sea Corps Soldiers.jpg|thumb|Sailors of the [[Israeli Navy]]]]

===United Kingdom===
{{Further|Israel–United Kingdom relations}}
The United Kingdom has supplied equipment and spare parts for [[Sa'ar 4.5-class missile boat]]s and [[F-4 Phantom]] fighter-bombers, components for small-calibre artillery ammunition and air-to-surface missiles, and engines for [[Elbit Hermes 450]] [[Unmanned aerial vehicle]]s. British arms sales to Israel mainly consist of light weaponry, and ammunition and components for helicopters, tanks, armoured personnel carriers, and combat aircraft.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/report-britain-places-embargo-on-arms-sales-to-israel-1.47870 |title=Report: Britain places an embargo on arms sales to Israel |work=Haaretz |location=Israel |date=13 April 2002 |access-date=10 June 2010 |archive-date=30 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100630163459/http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/report-britain-places-embargo-on-arms-sales-to-israel-1.47870 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=British MPs slam weapons exports to Israel|newspaper=ynetnews|date=30 March 2010|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3869789,00.html|access-date=27 June 2010|archive-date=14 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120514043215/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3869789,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Russia===
{{further|Israel–Russia relations#Military collaboration}}
On 19 October 1999, the Defense Minister of China, General [[Chi Haotian]], after meeting with Syrian Defense Minister [[Mustafa Tlass]] in [[Damascus]], [[Syria]], to discuss expanding military ties between Syria and China, then flew directly to Israel and met with [[Ehud Barak]], the then Prime Minister and Defense Minister of Israel where they discussed military relations. Among the military arrangements was a $1&nbsp;billion Israeli–Russian sale of military aircraft to China, which were to be jointly produced by Russia and Israel.<ref>[http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/x238.html "China defense minister visits Israel".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120530034200/http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/x238.html |date=30 May 2012 }} ''World Tribune''. Thursday, 21 October 1999</ref>

Russia has bought drones from Israel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/analysis-drone-deals-highlight-military-ties-between-israel-and-russia-24061368|title=ANALYSIS: Drone deals highlight military ties between Israel and Russia|work=Middle East Eye|access-date=24 March 2016|archive-date=7 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407093305/http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/analysis-drone-deals-highlight-military-ties-between-israel-and-russia-24061368|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/israel-sells-drones-russia-spy-ukraine-border-2086673|title=Israel Sells Drones To Russia To Spy On Ukraine Border|author=Cristina Silva|work=International Business Times|date=8 September 2015|access-date=24 March 2016|archive-date=6 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160406054327/http://www.ibtimes.com/israel-sells-drones-russia-spy-ukraine-border-2086673|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/business/israel-signs-400-million-deal-to-sell-spy-drones-to-russia-1.318972|title=Israel Signs $400 Million Deal to Sell Spy Drones to Russia|work=Haaretz.com|access-date=24 March 2016|archive-date=19 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161219090458/http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/business/israel-signs-400-million-deal-to-sell-spy-drones-to-russia-1.318972|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Report-Russia-purchased-ten-Israeli-drones-415575|title=Report: Moscow purchased 10 Israeli drones|work=The Jerusalem Post - JPost.com|access-date=24 March 2016|archive-date=24 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324222015/http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Report-Russia-purchased-ten-Israeli-drones-415575|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/16/world/russia-drone-program/|title=Russia's resurgent drone program|first=Michael|last=Pearson|date=16 October 2015|work=CNN|access-date=24 March 2016|archive-date=29 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160329182902/http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/16/world/russia-drone-program|url-status=live}}</ref>

===China===
{{Further|China–Israel relations}}
Israel is the second-largest foreign supplier of arms to the People's Republic of China, only after the [[Russian Federation]]. China has purchased a wide array of military hardware from Israel, including [[Unmanned aerial vehicle]]s and [[communications satellite]]s. China has become an extensive market for Israel's military industries and arms manufacturers, and trade with Israel has allowed it to obtain "dual-use" technology which the United States and [[European Union]] were reluctant to provide.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FL21Ak01.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041224012926/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FL21Ak01.html |url-status=unfit |archive-date=24 December 2004 |title=US up in arms over Sino-Israel ties |work=Asia Times Online |first=Sudha |last=Ramachandran |date=21 December 2004 |access-date=10 June 2010}}</ref> In 2010 [[Yair Golan]], head of [[Home Front Command|IDF Home Front Command]] visited China to strengthen military ties.<ref>{{cite web |last=Katz |first=Yaakov |url=https://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=179117 |title=IDF strengthening ties with Chinese military |work=Jerusalem Post |date=22 June 2010 |access-date=4 July 2010 |archive-date=26 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100626102614/http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=179117 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2012, [[Chief of General Staff (Israel)|IDF Chief of Staff]] [[Benny Gantz]] visited China for high-level talks with the Chinese defence establishment.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.jpost.com/Features/FrontLines/Article.aspx?id=276460 |title=Security and Defense: The Chinese connection |newspaper=Jerusalem Post |author=Yaakov Katz |date=5 July 2012 |access-date=22 July 2012 |archive-date=22 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722151138/http://www.jpost.com/Features/FrontLines/Article.aspx?id=276460 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Cyprus===
{{Further|Cyprus–Israel relations}}
As closely neighbouring countries, Israel and Cyprus have enjoyed greatly improving diplomatic relations since 2010. During the [[Mount Carmel forest fire (2010)|Mount Carmel Forest Fire]], Cyprus dispatched two aviation assets to assist fire-fighting operations in Israel – the first time Cypriot Government aircraft were permitted to operate from Israeli airfields in a non-civil capacity.<ref>^ "Cyprus helps aid teams at huge forest fire". Famagusta-gazette.com. 15 July 2009. Retrieved 16 January 2012.</ref> Israel and Cyprus have closely cooperated in maritime activities relating to Gaza, since 2010, and have reportedly begun an extensive sharing program of regional intelligence to support mutual security concerns. In May 2012, it was widely reported that the Israeli Air Force had been granted unrestricted access to the Nicosia Flight Information Region of Cyprus and that Israeli aviation assets may have operated over the island itself.<ref>{{cite news |last=Shamah |first=David |url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-plane-violates-turkish-cypriot-airspace/ |title=Turkey claims it chased Israeli jet out of Northern Cyprus |newspaper=The Times of Israel |date=17 May 2012 |access-date=20 July 2013 |archive-date=6 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606102722/http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-plane-violates-turkish-cypriot-airspace/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Greece===
{{Further|Greece–Israel relations}}
[[File:Flickr - Israel Defense Forces - Apache Helicopters Overlooking Greece.jpg|thumb|Two IAF [[Boeing AH-64 Apache|Apache AH-64D Longbows]] and one Greek AH-64A fly above the Greek countryside during a joint exercise, June 2011.]]
Since 2010, the Israeli and Greek air forces trained jointly in Greece, indicating a boost in ties due in large part to Israel's rift with Turkey.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11556442|title=Israel woos Greece after rift with Turkey|work=BBC|date=16 October 2010|author-first1=Jonathan|author-last1=Marcus}}</ref> Recent purchases include 100&nbsp;million euro deal between Greece and Israel for the purchase of [[Spice (guidance kit)|SPICE]] 1000 and SPICE 2000 pound bomb kits.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://defense-update.com/20110506_precision_attack.html|title=The High Cost of Precision Attack – Defense Update|date=6 May 2011}}</ref> In November 2011, the [[Israeli Air Force]] hosted Greece's [[Hellenic Air Force]] in a joint exercise at the [[Ovda Airport|Uvda base]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nzweek.com/world/israel-to-host-massive-intl-air-combat-exercise-40633/|title=Israel to host massive int'l air combat exercise|date=3 January 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-greece-defence-idUSTRE67G50P20100817 | work=Reuters | title=Israel and Greece seek to expand military ties | date=2010-08-17}}</ref> Similar training was held in 2012 by the IAF in cooperation with the Hellenic Air Force in the [[Peloponnese]] and parts of southern Greece in a response to the need of the IAF training of pilots in unfamiliar areas.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-hosts-greek-air-force-for-joint-excercise-1.401009|title=Israel Hosts Greek Air Force for Joint Exercise|work=Haaretz|first=Anshel|last=Pfeffer|date=12 December 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.top-hotels-gr.com/en/defencegreece.html|title=Defence news from Greece and Cyprus|website=www.top-hotels-gr.com|accessdate=31 July 2024}}</ref> On March 14, 2013, the navies of Israel, Greece and the US held a two-week joint military exercise for the third year in a row. The annual operation is nicknamed Noble Dina and was established in 2011. Similar to Noble Dina in 2012, the exercise in 2013 included defending offshore natural gas platforms and simulated air-to-air combat and anti-submarine warfare.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Zeiger |first1=Asher |url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-us-and-greece-begin-annual-naval-exercise/|title=Israel, US and Greece begin annual naval exercise|work=The Times of Israel |date=7 March 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130307/israel-us-and-greece-launch-joint-naval-exercise |title=Israel, US and Greece launch joint naval exercise |work=GlobalPost |date=7 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160512231400/http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130307/israel-us-and-greece-launch-joint-naval-exercise|archive-date=12 May 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=305670|title=IDF begins joint naval exercise in Mediterranean|work=The Jerusalem Post - JPost.com|date=7 August 2010 }}</ref> In March 2017, Israel participated in the large-scale "Iniochus 2017" military exercise, which is organized annually by Greece, along with USA, Italy and the United Arab Emirates.<ref>{{cite web|title=Israel, UAE to fly together in Greek air force exercise |url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-uae-to-fly-together-in-greek-air-force-exercise/ |work=The Times of Israel|date=27 March 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Pilots from Greece, USA, Italy, Israel and the United Arab Emirates in the "Iniochus 2017" (Πιλότοι από την Ελλάδα, τις ΗΠΑ, την Ιταλία, το Ισραήλ και τα Ηνωμένα Αραβικά Εμιράτα στον "Ηνίοχο 2017") |date=28 March 2017 |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.gr/2017/03/28/eidhseis-diethnes-politikh-pilotoi-iniohos-2017_n_15659376.html |publisher=The Huffington Post Greece}}</ref>

===Turkey===
{{Further|Israel–Turkey relations}}
Israel has provided extensive military assistance to Turkey. Israel sold Turkey [[IAI Heron]] [[Unmanned aerial vehicle]]s, and modernized Turkey's [[F-4 Phantom]] and [[Northrop F-5]] aircraft at the cost of $900&nbsp;million. Turkey's [[main battle tank]] is the Israeli-made [[Sabra (tank)|Sabra]] tank, of which Turkey has 170. Israel later upgraded them for $500&nbsp;million. Israel has also supplied Turkey with Israeli-made missiles, and the two nations have engaged in naval cooperation. Turkey allowed Israeli pilots to practice long-range flying over mountainous terrain in Turkey's Konya firing range, while Israel trains Turkish pilots at Israel's computerized firing range at [[Nevatim Airbase]].<ref>Nechmani, 1988, p. 24.</ref><ref>Pipes, 1997, p. 34.</ref> Until 2009, the Turkish military was one of Israel's largest defence customers. Israel defence companies have sold unmanned aerial vehicles and long-range targeting pods.<ref>{{cite web |last=Katz |first=Yaakov |url=https://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=235160 |title=Despite strained ties, IDF attache welcomed in Turkey |work=The Jerusalem Post |date=24 August 2011 |access-date=20 July 2013 |archive-date=17 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117112424/http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=235160 |url-status=live }}</ref>

However, relations have been strained in recent times. Since 2010 the Turkish military has declined to participate in the annual joint naval exercise with Israel and the United States.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Israel, Greece Conduct Joint Naval Drill Amid Ongoing Tension With Turkey |url=https://www.haaretz.com/2012-04-01/ty-article/israel-greece-conduct-joint-naval-drill-amid-ongoing-tension-with-turkey/0000017f-e691-df2c-a1ff-fed1a2ad0000 |access-date=2024-02-28 |work=Haaretz |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=13 March 2017 |title=Israel to Stage Naval Drill with US, Greece |url=https://www.israeldefense.co.il/en/node/28827 |website=Israel Defense}}</ref> The exercise, known as "Reliant Mermaid" was started in 1998 and included the Israeli, Turkish and American navies.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-08-04 |title=Turkey absent again from naval drills with Israel, US |url=https://www.jpost.com/defense/turkey-absent-again-from-naval-drills-with-israel-us |access-date=2024-02-28 |website=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |language=en |issn=0792-822X}}</ref> The objective of the exercise is to practice search-and-rescue operations and to familiarize each navy with international partners who also operate in the [[Mediterranean Sea]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Katz |first=Yaakov |url=https://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=232401 |title=Turkey absent again from naval drills with Israel, US |work=The Jerusalem Post |date=9 July 2013 |access-date=20 July 2013 |archive-date=17 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117112322/http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=232401 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Azerbaijan===
{{Further|Azerbaijan–Israel relations}}
Azerbaijan and Israel have engaged in intense cooperation since 1992.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.news.az/articles/politics/30558 |title=interview with Norma Zager |publisher=News.az |access-date=20 July 2013 |archive-date=16 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116073136/http://www.news.az/articles/politics/30558 |url-status=live }}</ref> Israeli military have been a major provider of battlefield aviation, artillery, antitank, and anti-infantry weaponry to Azerbaijan.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=2287 |title=Good Relations between Azerbaijan and Israel: A Model for Other Muslim States in Eurasia? |publisher=Washingtoninstitute.org |access-date=20 July 2013 |archive-date=21 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090821072044/http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=2287 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Jane's Defence Weekly, 16 October 1996</ref> In 2009, Israeli President [[Shimon Peres]] made a visit to Azerbaijan where military relations were expanded further, with the Israeli company [[Aeronautics Defense Systems Ltd]] announcing it was going to build a factory in [[Baku]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Aeronautics to build plant in Azerbaijan |author=Ora Coren |url=https://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1096354.html |newspaper=Haaretz |date=29 June 2009 |access-date=5 March 2012 |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004040420/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1096354.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2012, Israel and Azerbaijan signed an agreement according to which state-run [[Israel Aerospace Industries]] would sell $1.6&nbsp;billion in drones and anti-aircraft and missile defense systems to Azerbaijan.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/industries/israel-signs-deal-to-provide-azerbaijan-with-16-billion-in-military-equipment/2012/02/26/gIQAjtmQbR_story.html Israel signs deal to provide Azerbaijan with $1.6 billion in military equipment] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226224207/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/industries/israel-signs-deal-to-provide-azerbaijan-with-16-billion-in-military-equipment/2012/02/26/gIQAjtmQbR_story.html |date=26 February 2012 }}. ''The Washington Post''. 26 February 2012.</ref> In March 2012, the magazine ''[[Foreign Policy]]'' reported that the [[Israeli Air Force]] may be preparing to use the [[Sitalchay Military Airbase]], located {{convert|500|km|mi|abbr=on}} from the Iranian border, for air strikes against the [[nuclear program of Iran]],<ref name="FP 2012">{{cite news|last=Perry|first=mark|title=Israel's Secret Staging Ground|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/03/28/israel_s_secret_staging_ground?page=full|access-date=29 March 2012|newspaper=[[Foreign Policy]]|date=28 March 2012|archive-date=31 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331205424/http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/03/28/israel_s_secret_staging_ground?page=full|url-status=live}}</ref> later backed up by other media.<ref>{{cite news |title=Azerbaijan eyes aiding Israel against Iran |author=Thomas Grove |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-israel-azerbaijan-idUSBRE88T05L20120930 |work=Reuters |date=30 September 2012 |access-date=1 July 2017 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924171023/http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/30/us-iran-israel-azerbaijan-idUSBRE88T05L20120930 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Other countries===
Israel has also sold to or received supplies of military equipment from the [[Czech Republic]], [[Argentina]], [[Portugal]], [[Spain]], [[Slovakia]], [[Italy]], [[South Africa]], [[Canada]], [[Australia]], [[Poland]], [[Slovenia]], [[Romania]], [[Hungary]], [[Belgium]], [[Austria]], [[Serbia]], [[Montenegro]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]],<ref name=amnesty>{{cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/arms-embargo-vital-gaza-civilian-toll-mounts-20090115 |title=Arms embargo vital as Gaza civilian toll mounts |publisher=Amnesty.org |date=15 January 2009 |access-date=1 June 2010 |archive-date=8 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100608181340/http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/arms-embargo-vital-gaza-civilian-toll-mounts-20090115 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]],<ref>[http://www.stratfor.com/sitrep/israel_georgia_israel_halt_arms_sales_georgia Israel, Georgia: Israel To Halt Arms Sales To Georgia] {{webarchive|url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20091010124713/http://www.stratfor.com/sitrep/israel_georgia_israel_halt_arms_sales_georgia |date=10 October 2009 }}. Stratfor. 5 August 2008.</ref> [[Vietnam]] and [[Colombia]],<ref>[http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/News/today/10/10/2503.htm Head of Defense Ministry Meets with Colombian President] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101027074553/http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/News/today/10/10/2503.htm |date=27 October 2010 }}, IDF Spokesperson's Unit 25 October 2010</ref> among others.

==Commemoration==
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2024}}

===Parades===
{{Main|Israel Defense Forces parade}}

Israel Defense Forces parades took place on Independence Day, during the first 25 years of the State of Israel's existence. They were cancelled after 1973 due to financial and security concerns. The Israel Defense Forces still have weapon exhibitions country-wide on Independence Day, but they are stationary.

===Commemoration===
{{See also|Yom Hazikaron}}
[[File:Flickr - Israel Defense Forces - Remembering the Fallen.jpg|thumb|An IDF ceremony for Yom Hazikaron]]
[[File:PikiWiki Israel 12768 IDF parade in Jerusalem in 1968.jpg|thumb|Israeli female soldiers on parade, Jerusalem, 1968]]
[[Yom Hazikaron]], Israel's day of remembrance for fallen soldiers, is observed on the 4th day of the month of [[Iyar]] of the [[Hebrew calendar]], the day before the celebration of [[Yom Ha'atzmaut|Independence Day]].

The main museum for Israel's armoured corps is the [[Yad La-Shiryon]] in [[Latrun]], which houses one of the largest tank museums in the world. Other significant military museums are the [[Israel Defense Forces History Museum]] (Batei Ha-Osef) in [[Tel Aviv]], the [[Palmach Museum]], and the Beit HaTotchan of artillery in [[Zikhron Ya'akov]]. The [[Israeli Air Force Museum]] is located at [[Hatzerim Airbase]] in the [[Negev Desert]], and the Israeli Clandestine Immigration and Naval Museum, is in [[Haifa]].

Israel's National Military Cemetery is at [[Mount Herzl]]. Other Israeli military cemeteries include [[Kiryat Shaul Military Cemetery]] in Tel Aviv, and Sgula military cemetery at [[Petah Tikva]].

== See also ==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}

=== Security forces ===
<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order ♦♦♦--->
* [[Israeli Intelligence Community|Intelligence Community]]
** [[Mossad]]
** [[National Security Council (Israel)|National Security Council]]
** [[Shin Bet|Shabak]]
* [[Israeli police]]
* [[Knesset Guard]]

{{col-break}}

=== Defense industry of Israel ===
* [[Defense industry of Israel]]
* [[Plasan]]
* [[Soltam]]

{{col-break}}

===Strategic communication===
* [[IDF Spokesperson's Unit]]
* [[Hasbara|Public diplomacy of Israel]]

{{col-break}}

===Related subjects===
{{portal|Israel
}}
<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order ♦♦♦--->
* [[Arab–Israeli conflict]]
* [[Israel and weapons of mass destruction]]
* [[Israeli casualties of war]]
* [[Israeli war crimes]]
* [[Krav Maga]]
* [[List of brigades of the Israel Defense Forces]]
* [[Military equipment of Israel]]
* [[Military history of Israel]]
* [[Palestinian political violence]]
* [[Sherut Leumi]], the non-military (civil) national service
* [[Shlav Bet]], recruitment track intended for Haredim aged 26 and over.
{{col-end}}

==References and footnotes==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite web|url=https://besacenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/150-MONOGRAPH-Brower-IDF-1948-2017-WEB-UPDATED.pdf|title=The Israel Defense Forces, 1948–2017|first=Kenneth|last=Brower|publisher=The Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies|year=2018|issn=0793-1042|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250704071045/https://besacenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/150-MONOGRAPH-Brower-IDF-1948-2017-WEB-UPDATED.pdf|archive-date=2025-07-04}}
* Marcus, Raphael D. ''Israel's Long War with Hezbollah: Military Innovation and Adaptation under Fire'' (Georgetown UP, 2018). [http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=53526 Online review].
* {{Cite book|author=Rosenthal, Donna|title=The Israelis|publisher=Free Press|year=2003|isbn=978-0-7432-7035-9|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/israelisordinary00rose}}
* {{Cite book|title=צבא נולד : שלבים עיקריים בבניית הצבא בהנהגתו של דוד בן־גוריון / Tsava nolad : shelavim ʻiḳariyim bi-veniyat ha-tsava be-hanhagato shel Daṿid Ben-Guryon |trans-title=An Army Is Born |author=Ostfeld, Zehava|year=1994|publisher=Israel Ministry of Defense|isbn=978-965-05-0695-7|editor=Shiftel, Shoshana|language=he}}
* {{Cite book|title=Nucleus for a Standing Army|author=Gelber, Yoav|author-link=Yoav Gelber|year=1986|publisher=Yad Ben Tzvi|language=he}}
* {{Cite book|title=IDF in Its Corps: Army and Security Encyclopedia |department=18 volumes |editor=Yehuda Shif|publisher=Revivim Publishing|year=1982|language=he}}
* {{Cite book|title=The Nature of War: Conflicting Paradigms and Israeli Military Effectiveness|editor=Ron Tira|publisher=Sussex Academic Press|year=2009|isbn=978-1-84519-378-2}}
* Roislien, Hanne Eggen (2013). [http://afs.sagepub.com/content/39/2/213.abstract "Religion and Military Conscription: The Case of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF)"], ''[[Armed Forces & Society]]'' '''39''', No. 3, pp.&nbsp;213–232.
* "Country Briefing: Israel", ''[[Jane's Defence Weekly]]'', 19 June 1996

==External links==
{{Sister project links |wikt=IDF |commons=Category:Israel Defense Forces |b=no |n=no |q=no |s=no |v=no |species=no}}
* {{Official website}}
* {{Twitter|IDF}}

{{Israel Defense Forces}}
{{Orders, decorations, and medals of Israel}}
{{Military of Asia}}
{{Israel topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Israel Defense Forces| ]]
[[Category:1948 establishments in Israel]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1948]]
[[Category:Israel Prize in education recipients]]
[[Category:Israel Prize recipients that are organizations]]