Israel Defense Forces (IDF)

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is Israel's unified military, established in 1948 from pre-state paramilitary organisations including the Haganah. It comprises ground, air, and naval branches under a single command structure, with the Chief of General Staff (Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir) reporting to the Defence Minister. Conscription applies to most Jewish and Druze citizens; the reserve system lets the standing force of roughly 170,000 expand to over 600,000 in wartime. The IDF is legally subordinate to civilian authority: the Defence Minister issues operational orders, the Prime Minister chairs the war cabinet, and the attorney-general provides legal advice on targeting decisions.

Since 28 February 2026 the IDF has been fighting on multiple simultaneous fronts. On the Iran track, it co-launched Operation Roaring Lion on the opening night, striking central Tehran and killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei; subsequent operations expanded to economic targets including refineries, airports, and Natanz enrichment infrastructure. On the Lebanon track, the IDF established a 30-kilometre security zone south of the Litani River, deploying five armoured divisions with 1,072 personnel killed in Lebanon by mid-March. Two IDF soldiers were wounded by Hezbollah rockets on 13 April as the Lebanon front re-ignited.

A 10-day Israel-Lebanon ceasefire brokered by Trump on 17 April took effect at 17:00 local. Netanyahu told his cabinet IDF troops would not withdraw from the security zone and the truce did not apply to Hezbollah operations; Trump extended the Ceasefire three weeks to 15-16 May on 23 April. The IDF continued striking Hezbollah targets throughout both Ceasefire periods, killing Radwan Force commander Ahmed Ali Balout and two additional senior Hezbollah commanders in the Dahiyeh neighbourhood of Beirut on 7 May — the first IDF airstrike on the Lebanese capital since the Trump ceasefire.

By 1 June 2026, Israeli forces had captured Beaufort Castle, the fortress above the Litani, held for the first time since the 2000 withdrawal, and advanced approximately 10 km north of the Litani toward the Zaharani river, the deepest push into Lebanon in 25 years. On 5 June, the IDF announced it had killed Hezbollah's chief engineer in a strike the previous week and issued evacuation warnings for three south Lebanon villages ahead of further operations. The advance continued on the same day the Washington Lebanon framework was announced, confirming the political and military tracks are not synchronised.

The IDF's generals privately fear a Ceasefire deal before strategic victory is secured. This gap between political and military timelines, compounded by strikes outside evacuation zones that have drawn international condemnation, raises the question of whether the IDF can dictate the war's end or only its continuation.