Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; Hebrew: צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , lit. 'The Army of the Defense for Israel'), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym Tzahal (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.[3] It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security apparatus. The IDF is headed by the Chief of the General Staff, who is subordinate to the Israeli Defense Minister.
"IDF" redirects here. For other uses, see IDF (disambiguation).Israel Defense Forces
26 May 1948
17
24–34 months
1,554,186 males, age 17–49 (2016),
1,514,063 females, age 17–49 (2016)
1,499,998 males, age 17–49 (2016),
1,392,319 females, age 17–49 (2016)
60,000 males (2016),
60,000 females (2016)
169,500[1]
465,000[1]
US$24.3 billion (2021)[2] (ranked 15th)
5.2% (2021)[2]
1948 Arab–Israeli War (1948–1949)
Reprisal operations (1951–1956)
Sinai War (1956)
Six-Day War (1967)
War of Attrition (1967–1970)
Yom Kippur War (1973)
Operation Litani (1978)
First Lebanon War (1982–1985)
South Lebanon conflict (1985–2000)
First Intifada (1987–1993)
Second Intifada (2000–2005)
Second Lebanon War (2006)
Operation Cast Lead (2008–2009)
Pillar of Defense (2012)
Protective Edge (2014)
2021 Israel–Palestine crisis (2021)
Israel–Hamas war (2023-present)
Others
On the orders of David Ben-Gurion, the IDF was formed on 26 May 1948 and began to operate as a conscript military, drawing its initial recruits from the already-existing paramilitaries of the Yishuv—namely Haganah, the Irgun, and Lehi. It was formed shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence and has participated in every armed conflict involving Israel. In the wake of the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace treaty and the 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 southern Lebanon and its occupation of the Palestinian territories (the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem). In 2000, the IDF withdrew from Southern Lebanon and in 2005 from Gaza. Conflict between Israel and Islamist groups based in Gaza, notably Hamas, has continued since then. Moreover, notable Israeli–Syrian border incidents have occurred frequently since 2011, due to regional instability caused by the Syrian civil war.
Since 1967, the IDF maintains a close security relationship with the United States,[4] including in research and development cooperation, with joint efforts on the F-15I, the Tactical High-Energy Laser, and the Arrow defence system, among others. The IDF is believed to have maintained an operational nuclear weapons capability since 1967, possibly possessing between 80 and 400 nuclear warheads.[5] The IDF's conduct in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories for decades has received widespread criticism.[6]
Etymology
The Israeli cabinet ratified the name "Israel Defense Forces" (Hebrew: 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 (Hebrew: 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.[7] Among the primary opponents of the name were Minister Haim-Moshe Shapira and the Hatzohar party, both in favor of Tzva Yisra'el.[7]
Non-immigrating foreign volunteers typically serve with the IDF in one of five ways:
Budget
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.[99]
In September 2009, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu endorsed an additional NIS 1.5 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 billion and NIS 53.2 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 billion addition.[100]
In 2011, the prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu reversed course and moved to make significant cuts in the defence budget to pay for social programs.[101] The General Staff concluded that the proposed cuts endangered the battle readiness of the armed forces.[102] In 2012, Israel spent $15.2 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.[103]
Field rations
Field rations, called manot krav, usually consist of canned tuna, sardines, beans, 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, chocolate spread and jam. Around 2010, the IDF announced that certain freeze-dried MREs served in water-activated disposable heaters like goulash, turkey schwarma and meatballs would be introduced as field rations.[104]
One staple of these rations was loof, a type of Kosher spam made from chicken or beef that was phased out around 2008.[105] 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."[106]
Foreign military relations
France
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.[135]
