Israel Defense Force (IDF)

In The News Israel Defense Force (IDF)

Condition of IDF officer wounded in Jerusalem attack said to worsen

An Israel Defense Forces officer injured in a shooting attack on Saturday near Jerusalem’s Old City has seen a deterioration in his medical condition, his parents said Tuesday evening.

The officer, whose full name is not being published, was said to be in serious but stable condition and is sedated and on a ventilator, according to Hebrew media…

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

Israel Air Force kicks off first F-35 fighter jet drill abroad with US, Britain and Italy

06/06/2021

The Israeli Air Force’s F-35 stealth fighter jets will for the first time be deployed in a drill exercise outside of the country’s borders, flying alongside F-35 jets from three other countries. The drill abroad will take place in Italy starting Sunday together with the US Air Force, the Royal Air Force, and the Italian Air Force.

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

IDF thwarts suspected attempted ramming in West Bank

04/06/2021

The IDF thwarted a suspected attempted ramming attack in the Palestinian town of Bir Nabala in the West Bank on Monday night, according to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit. 

Sources in the IDF stated on Tuesday morning that it is still to early to say with certainty that the incident was terrorism, but that the lives of soldiers had…

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

New Iron Dome upgrade latest step in Mideast arms race

03/30/2021

The announcement by the Israeli Defense Ministry earlier this month of successful trials of an upgraded version of the Iron Dome air-defense system represents the latest step in a lengthy arms race.

The current upgrade program has seen live-fire trials every few months, designed to test out how the improvements work in practice….

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

IDF reveals new laser-guided mortar system to ‘revolutionize’ the battlefield

03/13/2021
Gantz praises new weapon that contends ‘with enemies hidden within civilian, urban environments’

Israel’s R&D branch in the Ministry of Defense and Elbit Systems revealed Sunday the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) new Iron Sting — a network of precise fire systems set to “revolutionize ground warfare.”
The Iron Sting is a 120…

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

IDF: Israeli troops arrest Gazan infiltrator armed with 3 grenades

03/11/2021
Palestinian man taken into custody for further questioning

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) apprehended Friday a Palestinian suspect who infiltrated into Israel from the northern part of the Gaza Strip.
After interrogating him at the scene, the troops found out that he carried three hand grenades with him and left them in a field…

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

105-Year-Old Israeli Air Force Founding Member Promoted To Colonel

02/21/2021

Israel’s top military brass was on hand Friday for the promotion of Israeli Air Force founding member Alex Ziloni, 105, to the rank of colonel in honor of his “many decades of dedication to the State of Israel,” the IDF said in a statement.

Ziloni, who arrived in the country from Poland when he was just five years old and served…

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

Palestinian Attempts To Stab IDF Soldier, Attack Thwarted

01/31/2021

A Palestinian man was shot dead while attempting to stab an Israeli soldier with a makeshift spear at the Gush Etzion Junction in the southern West Bank on Sunday morning, the Israel Defense Forces said.

No Israelis were injured in the incident, Gush Etzion regional council head Shlomo Ne’eman said.

In security camera footage…

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

IDF To Hold Massive Exercise This Summer, Simulating Full-Scale, Multi-Front War

01/21/2021

The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday announced plans for a massive, month-long exercise this summer, simulating a multi-front war, in which every branch of the military will take part.

This will be the first time that the military holds a drill of this scope, according to the IDF.

“The structure of the exercise, which is…

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

Operation Cast Lead

01/06/2021
CUFI Coffee Break
Lesson 48
After three years of sustained rocket fire from Gaza, Israel’s people could take no more. The IDF entered Gaza on December 27, 2008. Israel’s objective during the operation was to stop the smuggling of weapons into Gaza and to stop indiscriminate rocket fire into Israel.

First, Israel initiated air…

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

In First Drill, IDF’s Ghost Unit Tests Out New Tactics with Jets, Tanks and Robots

The Israel Defense Forces new multidisciplinary Ghost Unit completed its first major exercise on Thursday, testing a variety of new fighting techniques including a method of having ground troops identify targets for fighter jets, the military said.

The Ghost Unit was created earlier this year as part of the IDF’s multiyear Momentum Plan and is…

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

Israel Air Force Opens New Special Forces Wing

The Israeli Air Force on Sunday opened a new Special Force Wing (Wing 7) that will include the Air Force’s special forces, Unit 669 and Shaldag as well as other units to increase the operational effectiveness of the IAF.

The opening ceremony took place at the Palmahim Air Force base in central Israel in the presence of IAF Commander Maj.-Gen….

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

Israeli Army Arrests Killer of 21-Year-Old Soldier Following a Month-Long Manhunt

The Israel Defense Forces have arrested the killer of Israeli soldier Amit Ben-Yigal, who died last month in a stone-throwing incident in the West Bank.

“We can confirm that after a large-scale operation with Israel’s security services, our soldiers have arrested the assailant who killed 21-year-old Staff Sgt. Amit Ben Ygal during operational…

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

IDF Chief Gives Award to Soldier Who Lost Leg in West Bank Ramming

IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi presented a soldier who lost his leg in a car ramming attack earlier this month with an award of excellence on Wednesday, the military said.

Staff Sgt. Shadi Ibrahim, from the Druze town of Sajur in northern Israel, sustained serious injuries when a Palestinian man rammed his car into him outside the Negohot…

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

Israeli Soldier Who Lost Leg to Ramming Attack Asks to Be Returned to His Unit

JNS.org – An Israeli soldier who lost his leg after being wounded in a terrorist attack in Judea earlier this month has been released from intensive care.

In a video message sent from his hospital bed at the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva, 20-year-old Shadi Ibrahim, of the Druze town of Sajur in northern Israel, said, “I came out of intensive…

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

IDF, Israel Police Thwart Weapons Smuggling From Jordan

Israeli forces early on Wednesday morning shot and lightly wounded a Jordanian arms smuggler attempting to cross the Israel-Jordan border.

Police officers carried out standard arrest procedures after two Jordanian citizens were detected by the Israeli military trying to enter Israel in the northern Jordan Valley, near Kibbutz Gesher, according to…

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

Arab Muslim twins from East Jerusalem go from delinquents to Israeli soldiers

Only a few years ago, Fares and Firas Muhammad, Muslim Arab twins from East Jerusalem, had juvenile rap sheets and seemed destined for a life of petty crime and delinquency.

Today both are star members of the Israel Defense Forces’ storied Golani Brigade, and Fares is now training to become a squad commander.
The two brothers’ incredible story…

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

IDF Naval Commando Unit Keeps Oxygen Flowing to Civilian Care Centers, Stressing ‘the Need of the Hour’

The Israel Defense Forces’ elite naval commando unit, Shayetet 13, has been making nonstop deliveries of oxygen cylinders to civilian care facilities that were struggling to get hold of supplies in recent weeks as hospitals raced to stock up on their own oxygen tanks.

The Shayetet 13 Unit is the navy’s marine commando unit that operates at sea,…