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Israel Defense Forces
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{{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 ההגנה לישראל}}}} | image = [[File:Badge of the Israeli Defense Forces 2022 version.svg|150px|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|200px]] | caption2 = Standard | alt2 = | 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 | manpower_data = 2016 | manpower_age = 17–49 | available = 1,554,186 | available_f = 1,514,063 | fit = 1,499,998 | fit_f = 1,392,319 | reaching = 60,000 | reaching_f = 60,000 | 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}} | 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/>''[[Military operations conducted by the Israel Defense Forces|Others]]'' | ranks = [[Israel Defense Forces ranks]] }} The '''Israel Defense Forces''' ('''IDF'''; {{langx|he|צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל}} {{Audio|He-Israeli Defense Forces.ogg|''Tsva ha-Hagana le-Yisra'el''|help=no}}, {{Literal translation|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 [[Israel|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)|Israeli 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|unlawful killings]] and systematic abuses of [[Human rights violations against Palestinians by Israel|Palestinian rights]].<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>
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