IDF

The IDF, or, Israel Defense Forces, is the national military force of the State of Israel and consists of the Israeli Ground Force, the Israeli Air Force, and the Israeli Navy.

The IDF is headed by the Chief of Staff, who holds the rank of lieutenant general and is the only active officer who does so. The current chief of staff is Eyal Zamir.

The IDF was formally established in May 1948 after the creation of the Jewish State, and it encompassed the three paramilitary groups that existed prior to the state - the Hagana, the Irgun, and the Stern Gang (Lehi).

Since the formation of the IDF, it has participated in six major wars including the War of Independence, the Six Day War, the Sinai War, the Yom Kippur War, and the first and second Lebanon Wars. Other operations include Operation Cast Lead, Operation Pillar of Defense, Operation Protective Edge, Operation Guardian of the Walls, and Operation Swords of Iron.

Conscription to the IDF is mandatory for both men and women over the age of 18, with women in non-combat positions serving for two years, and women in combat positions, and men, regardless of position, have a mandatory service of two years and eight months.

In addition to regular military duties and activities, the IDF responds to national emergencies or crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and provides personnel to carry out work alongside the civilian population.

Anchored in the Earth: The theraputic farm helping Israel's combat veterans

Now in its second year, the initiative serves approximately 60 veterans across four cohorts, providing a structured path toward healing and reintegration through farm-based therapeutic work.

JANUARY 31, 2026|ByABIGAIL KLEIN LEICHMAN

IDF VETERANS work the fields as part of Kaima’s Anchored in the Earth therapeutic farming program.

THE MACABRE job of finding the body of the last hostage, Ran Gvili, required the unearthing of 250 bodies and the assistance of embedded forensic dental specialists. Here, IDF soldiers stand alongside Gvili’s body after its discovery in Gaza this week.

YASAR heroes: The IDF unit that found and identified Ran Gvili

MILITARY AFFAIRS: A hero shows up when there is no applause, and the work is heavy, unseen, and costly, a description embodied by IDF soldiers whose job is to search, identify, and return the dead.

JANUARY 31, 2026|ByTUVIA BOOK

Plumes of smoke rise after the IDF carried out house demolitions in the northern Gaza Strip in January. It is believed that between 80,000 and 200,000 tons of munitions were fired or dropped on Gaza over two years of war.

IDF strikes Gaza, Palestinian reports say at least 20 people dead

The recent IDF airstrikes in Gaza killed 26 people, according to Hamas-run health authorities cited by Reuters.

JANUARY 31, 2026|ByTOBIAS HOLCMAN

The former concentration camp Auschwitz

Grapevine: 'I also remember a miracle'

Movers and shakers in Israeli society.

JANUARY 31, 2026|ByGREER FAY CASHMAN

Haredi enlistment on the rise, still falling short of IDF goals - N12

The increase over the past two years has been attributed by professional sources to the repercussions imposed on those who don’t enlist.

JANUARY 31, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF

Haredi soldier

IDF announces capture of Hamas commander during overnight operations

The capture happened after Friday's strike, in which three out of eight Hamas terrorists were killed while leaving a tunnel in Rafah, the military announced.

JANUARY 30, 2026ByTOBIAS HOLCMAN

Hamas terrorists stand at a site as Hamas says it continues to search for the body of the last deceased hostage, in Gaza City December 8, 2025.

Parashat Beshalach's lessons on unity, shared risk, and IDF service

A segment of Israeli society – largely comprising traditional, Religious-Zionist, and secular Jews – carries the overwhelming weight of military service.

JANUARY 30, 2026ByMICHAEL FREUND

A STATUE of Deborah dated 1792 stands in Aix-en-Provence, France.

‘It felt like victory’: IDF dentist on identifying last Gaza hostage Ran Gvili - interview

“We started hearing [celebratory] shouts from soldiers all around. It was indescribable, a significant moment,” 'L' recalled. “There wasn’t a single dry eye.”

JANUARY 30, 2026ByMIRIAM SELA-EITAM

IDF works to identify body of St.-Sgt.-Maj. Ran Gvili, January 26, 2026.

Middle Israel: Entering the post-war political era - opinion

Israeli voters emerged from Israel’s most costly war imbued with the kind of wrath, humiliation, and resolve that makes decadent establishments fall, and their successors rise.

JANUARY 30, 2026ByAMOTZ ASA-EL

THE BIG question, postwar, is how Israelis will respond at the ballot box to the trauma. Here, political opponents Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Yair Lapid shake hands during a special session in honor of Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, at the Knesset on Monday.

IDF strikes eight terrorists emerging from tunnel in Rafah, kills three

Later in the morning, additional strikes were made against the areas to which the remaining terrorists attempted to escape. The results from these strikes are currently under review.

JANUARY 30, 2026ByTZVI JASPER, SHOSHANA BAKER

Hamas members stand at the funeral of Marwan Issa, a senior Hamas deputy military commander who was killed in an Israeli airstrike during the conflict between Israel and Hamas, in the central Gaza Strip, February 7, 2025.

Giant portrait of Hind Rajab, girl killed in Gaza war, unfurled on Barcelona beach

Protesters in Barcelona unveil a giant portrait of Hind Rajab, a Palestinian girl killed in the Israel-Hamas War, as her mother calls for global attention to Gaza's children.

JANUARY 30, 2026ByREUTERS

A giant portrait of 5-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab who was killed in Gaza in 2024, is unfurled on Barceloneta Beach in the second anniversary of her death and after a film about her death received an Oscar nomination, in Barcelona, Spain January 29, 2026.

How much are Hyundai i20 and SEAT Ibiza sold for, first-hand from a lieutenant colonel?

Eldan is selling officers’ cars returned from the IDF, at a discount far below the price list, or through a rare used-car leasing plan: NIS 1,200 per month, including insurance and maintenance.

JANUARY 29, 2026ByUDI ETZION/WALLA!

Ibiza and i20. From NIS 40,000 for purchase.

The final hostage returns to Israel: Can healing begin?

In this emotional episode of The Deep Dive, host Jacob Laznik covers the return of Ran Gvili, the last Israeli hostage held in Gaza, after 844 days.

JANUARY 29, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST PODCASTS

The final hostage returns to Israel: Can healing begin?

Inside Israeli Navy’s covert Gaza operations with its new amphibious fleet - exclusive

Two senior IDF naval officers tell The Post for the first time how Israel’s new amphibious ships slipped behind Hamas lines in Gaza.

JANUARY 29, 2026ByYONAH JEREMY BOB

An Israel Navy vessel travels through Israeli waters.