Israel Defense Forces
Combined military forces of Israel
Follow Israel Defense Forces on Notably News to receive short updates to your email — rarely!
| 2025 | Planned opening of the Haifa–Nazareth light rail system, which will connect multiple cities and towns along its route. |
| January 2025 | The Hasmonean Brigade received its first 50 soldiers, marking a significant milestone in Haredi military service integration. |
| January 2025 | Multiple Israeli news outlets reported a significant number of reservists (estimated over 100,000) ceased showing up for duty following the collapse of the ceasefire, indicating potential challenges for the government's continuation of the war. |
| 2024 | The IDF continued its military campaign in Gaza, facing international scrutiny and challenges in achieving its strategic objectives while minimizing civilian casualties. |
| 2024 | The Hasmonean Brigade, a new Haredi infantry unit, was created to accommodate Haredi soldiers. |
| 2024 | Since the start of the Israel-Hamas War, 600 Haredim have enlisted through the Shlav Bet program, a recruitment track for Haredim over 26 years old to complete military service. |
| November 2024 | Israeli military officials issue 1,126 arrest warrants for ultra-Orthodox Jewish conscripts who did not respond to drafting orders. Brigadier General Shay Tayeb warns of immediate summons, draft dodger status, travel bans, and potential arrest for non-compliance. |
| October 7 2024 | According to Neve Gordon, IDF began authorizing killings of up to and over 100 civilians when targeting a single senior Hamas commander, potentially attempting to establish a new precedent in international law |
| July 2024 | Ultra-Orthodox Shas party urges potential conscripts to ignore IDF call-ups, leading to protests where demonstrators attacked law enforcement and the vehicle of Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf. |
| July 2024 | The IDF began drafting Haredi men following the Supreme Court ruling, marking a significant change in military service policies. |
| June 2024 | Israel's Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Haredi Jews were eligible for compulsory military service, ending nearly eight decades of exemption. |
| March 2024 | Israel launched a comprehensive public transportation reform aimed at encouraging public transport use by implementing significant price discounts. The reform includes 50% discounts for peripheral residents, people with disabilities, and 33% discounts for individuals aged 18-26. Discharged soldiers and national service completers will receive free transportation for one year. |
| February 2024 | Sofia Orr was jailed for refusing to serve in the IDF, explaining her decision was made at age 15 to avoid normalizing a 'decades-long cycle of violence'. |
| December 26 2023 | Israeli teen Tal Mitnick was sentenced to 30 days in jail for refusing to draft, condemning the Gaza war as 'a revenge campaign against Palestinian people'. |
| October 2023 | Launched initiatives to secure funding for victims and their families affected by the Hamas attack, while simultaneously critiquing the Netanyahu government as 'totally paralyzed' and undermining national security. |
| October 2023 | Reservists began experiencing accumulated loss of income, with many becoming demoralized or frustrated with the prolonged conflict. |
| October 2023 | Ariel Davidod declared his refusal to serve in the IDF. |
| October 2023 | Initiated and led efforts to equip and organize civilian defense squads nationwide, focusing on regions near the Gaza border, in response to perceived government and military failures in protecting civilians during the conflict. |
| October 2023 | The Caracal Battalion engaged in intense fighting against Hamas militants near the Gaza border, with female soldiers battling militants for nearly four hours and reportedly killing around 100 Hamas members, demonstrating women's effectiveness in combat roles. |
| October 7 2023 | During the Hamas incursion into Israel, Ziv emerges as a key figure of individual resistance, actively organizing military efforts and civilian defense initiatives in conflict zones. |
| October 7 2023 | An all-woman tank crew made history as the first female tank crew in the West to engage in active combat during the Hamas attack on Israel. The crew fought for 17 hours and eliminated more than 50 Hamas militants. |
| September 2023 | Over 200 Israeli youth released an open letter titled 'Youth Against Dictatorship', announcing their collective refusal to serve in the Israel Defense Forces. |
| August 2023 | Tel Aviv Light Rail opens its first line, the Red Line, serving Tel Aviv and surrounding cities. The line features a significant underground portion. |
| June 2023 | Blanket military service exemptions for ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students expired, potentially allowing the IDF to conscript eligible ultra-Orthodox citizens. A cabinet resolution extended the no-draft policy for another 10 months. |
| 2022 | Arms exports reached $12.5 billion, significantly boosted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with continued strong sales to the United States, Europe, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and India. |
| 2022 | Three Israeli defense companies (Elbit Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries, and RAFAEL) were listed on the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute's index of top 100 arms-producing and military service companies. |
| 2022 | The IDF officially updated its emblem to acknowledge the 1993 name change. |
| 2021 | The reduction in service duration was reverted, with the potential reduction postponed to 2024. |
| May 2021 | During the Israel-Palestine crisis, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted significant military operations in response to rocket attacks from Hamas in Gaza, including precision airstrikes targeting Hamas military infrastructure and leadership locations. |
| 2020 | The United States pressures Israel to exclude all Chinese components from communications systems, security cameras, and computer network equipment. |
| 2020 | National service exemption statistics showed 32.9% of men and 44.3% of women received exemptions, with a notable increase in mental health-related exemptions. |
| 2020 | Benny Gantz became the first alternate prime minister of Israel. |
| 2020 | Sanctions imposed on Israel Ziv by the U.S. Treasury in 2018 were lifted. |
| 2020 | 55% of eligible women were drafted into the Israel Defense Forces, while 35-36% of women received exemptions for religious reasons. |
| 2020 | Military service for men was reduced to 30 months. |
| 2020 | 606 Muslim Arabs were drafted into the IDF, with more than half entering combat roles, continuing the trend of increasing Arab participation. |
| 2020 | INS Drakon, the sixth Dolphin class submarine, was expected to be delivered to the Israeli Navy. |
| 2019 | Ramon Airport opened 20 km north of Eilat, replacing the existing Uvda and Eilat airports. The old Eilat 'city' airport was shut down, with plans for land redevelopment. |
| 2019 | First electrified railway in Israel opens between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, after numerous project delays. Israel Railways orders Bombardier Traxx electric locomotives for this and future electrified lines. |
| 2019 | 489 Muslim Arabs were drafted into the IDF, an increase from the previous year. |
| 2018 | Sayeret Rimon, a special forces unit specialized in desert warfare and border infiltration in the Gaza Strip, was disbanded. |
| 2018 | 436 Muslim Arabs were drafted into the IDF. |
| December 2018 | U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on Israel Ziv, accusing him of using an agricultural consultancy as a front for weapons sales to South Sudan. |
| July 2018 | IDF captain Or Naʽaman ordered a Patriot missile battery to shoot down a Syrian drone and fighter jet over the Golan Heights, earning a military certificate of appreciation. |
| 2017 | Ben Gurion Airport handled nearly 21 million passengers, becoming the busiest airport in the Eastern Mediterranean in terms of international passengers served. |
| 2017 | High Court contested the law change granting military service exemptions. |
| 2017 | David's Sling, an anti-missile system designed to counter medium range rockets, became operational. |
| June 2017 | The United States began operating an anti-missile system in the Negev region of Southern Israel, manned by 120 US Army personnel at a facility within the Mashabim Israeli Air Force base. |
|
We are only showing the most recent entries for this topic. |
|
This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles Israel Defense Forces ranks, Israel Defense Forces, Special forces of Israel, Israel Ziv, Defense industry of Israel, Tanks of the Israel Defense Forces, Women in the Israel Defense Forces, Exemption from military service in Israel, Israel Defense Forces Emblem, Conscription in Israel, Refusal to serve in the Israel Defense Forces, History of the Israel Defense Forces, Targeted killing by Israel & Transport in Israel, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.