Israel Defense Force (IDF)

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

What is Yom HaZikaron and how does Israel observe it

Yom HaZikaron is the day of national remembrance in Israel to commemorate all the soldiers and people who lost their lives during the struggle to defend the State of Israel. On this day we mourn and remember our fallen soldiers and all lives lost by terror. Yom HaZikaron, which goes by the Jewish calendar, begins with a siren at 8:00 in the…

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

IDF: Palestinians who breached fence planted explosives

The Israeli army revealed that three Palestinians who entered Israeli territory on Sunday had planted two improvised explosive devices along the Gaza security fence.

Earlier, soldiers monitoring closed circuit cameras spotted the three men as they broke through the border, and then later crossed back into Gaza, the army said.

An IDF tank opened…

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

Israeli Military Set for Mammoth Task of Prepping for Passover

Despite its many round-the-clock security missions, the Israel Defense Forces believes that bringing the holiday spirit to its personnel is an imperative.

As Passover approaches, those serving in combat and combat-support roles in the military — as well as a brigade rabbi — told JNS about how they celebrate while in military service.

Sgt. Shir…

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

How Debriefing Like The Israeli Air Force Can Help Your Business

This February an Israeli F-16 was shot down by Syrian anti-aircraft fire during a raid, the first time that an Israeli Air Force fighter jet has been downed in combat since 1982. The Israeli pilots bailed out of the plane, which crashed into a field in northern Israel. Just a few days later, the results of the debrief conducted by the IAF to…

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

Reports say Israeli jets hit Hezbollah positions along Syria-Lebanon border

Lebanon-Syria border on Sunday night, in reports that were not confirmed by either Hezbollah or the IAF.

The reports said the attacks were said to have occurred near the eastern Lebanese town of Baalbek, near the Syrian border.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist group denied the airstrikes took place. A spokesperson for the Israeli military…

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

Amid shifting landscape, IDF unveils sweeping plan to revamp Ground Forces

The Israeli military’s Ground Forces are due to undergo a massive overhaul, including significant structural changes and an influx of advanced technology, that will change the way they train, fight and communicate, a senior IDF official said Tuesday.

The reforms are meant to update the Ground Forces, which represent a huge portion of the Israel…

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

IDF reveals it thwarted attempted Islamic State bombing of Australian flight

The Israeli army on Wednesday revealed that the Military Intelligence Unit 8200 foiled an Islamic State attempt to bomb a flight from Australia last August.

“The unit provided exclusive intelligence that led to the prevention of an air attack by the Islamic State in 2017 in Australia,” a senior IDF officer said.

“The foiling of the attack saved…

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

Flying High: downed Israeli airman returns to the skies

The Israeli Air Force navigator who was lightly injured after ejecting his F-16 while on a mission over Syria, returned to the cockpit Sunday. He was accompanied on his first back-to-service practice flight by IAF Chief Major General Amikam Norkin.

The fighter jet was fired on while targeting Iranian targets in Syria as a reaction to an Iranian…

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

Bomb detonated on IDF force patrolling Gaza border

An explosive device was detonated on an IDF patrol along the Gaza Strip border on Saturday and a tank fired a shell at an observation post in response to the attack, the army said,

The incident occurred in the southern Gaza area near the city of Khan Younis, the IDF said. Many additional details were not immediately released for publication,…

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

IDF Busts Palestinian Weapons Ring Amidst Increased Violence in West Bank

Israeli Defense Forces busted a weapons-smuggling operation in the southern Hebron Hills early Thursday morning, arresting six suspects.

The army reported that the weapons were found in a compound belonging to a weapons dealer in Deir Razih, on the periphery of Hebron. Troops confiscated four handguns, three air-powered guns, four commando…

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

IDF’s ‘sky riders’ fly high under first female commander

The first female commander of the IDF’s “sky riders” is leading the unit to greater heights, with two new types of drones designed to provide longer flight time and higher-quality intelligence gathering capabilities.

Lt. Col. Reut Rettig-Weiss took command of the Artillery Corps’ elite Sky Riders Unit, also known by its Hebrew acronym Rochash,…

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

Air Force appoints first female commander of aviation squad

For the first time, a woman is to command an aviation squad, the army announced Tuesday, some 16 years after Roni Zuckerman became the first Israeli woman fighter pilot.

The major, whose name cannot be published for security reasons, is to be promoted to lieutenant colonel and will head a squadron of aviation at an Israel Air Force base.

“She…

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

Israeli leaders applaud operation targeting terrorists behind rabbi’s murder

Israeli leaders praised the work of security forces Thursday after a pre-dawn operation in Jenin killed a Palestinian terrorist believed to be behind last week’s fatal shooting of Israeli rabbi Raziel Shevach.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, currently on a trip to India, hailed the troops and warned any would-be terrorists that Israel would be…

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

Introducing: digital warfare through the IDF’s new intelligence unit

Around 400 soldiers serve in the new secret unit—covertly formed in 2014—most of whom are programmers, software testers and graduates of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences degrees.

The “products” produced by the unit constitute a significant leap in making real-time intelligence easily accessible to military commanders, in bolstering…

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

New Elite Military Unit Ready to Defend Israel From Gaza Terror Threat

JNS.org – A new elite IDF infantry unit is about to take up its position along Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip.

The Haruv (Carob) unit, named after a renowned force that operated in Israel’s southern desert border in the 1960s and 1970s, was once a regular infantry battalion in the Kfir brigade, focusing on security operations in Judea and…

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

‘You Will Always Be in My Heart’: Friends Remember IDF Soldier Killed in Stabbing Attack

Friends of IDF soldier Ron Kokia, 19, who was killed on Thursday night in an apparent terrorist attack, expressed their pain and mourning in a series of emotional statements, remembering Kokia as a special and loving person who they will miss forever.

Kokia was stabbed to death while waiting for a ride in the southern city of Arad. The terrorists…

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

IDF deploys Iron Dome, raises alert amid Gaza terror threat

A number of Iron Dome missile defense batteries were deployed in central Israel on Monday, the military said, amid heightened tensions with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad since the army demolished the terrorist group’s border-crossing attack tunnel last month.

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed the anti-missile systems had been installed in…

Israel Defense Force (IDF)

Grandson of famous Jewish WWII partisans makes resistance meaningful today

NEW YORK — For Matthew Bielski his saba and savta (grandfather and grandmother) were nothing short of modern day Maccabees.

As the grandson of Jewish partisans Sonia and Zus Bielski, Mattthew Bielski, 33, frequently heard stories about surviving frigid winters deep in the Nalibaki forest, in northwestern Belarus. He also heard about what it was…