96th Division (Israel)

Reporting describes the formation as combining eastern-border command responsibilities with the development of five light-infantry reserve brigades recruited largely from volunteers who had previously left or been exempted from reserve service.[1][6] The regional model places members near their homes, with plans for vetted reservists to store rifles and equipment at home so they can reach roadblocks, strategic sites, and other defensive positions quickly.[6]

By late 2025, two David Brigade battalions were serving in the Jordan Valley and others were performing defensive duties in Judea and Samaria, while the division continued building toward full staffing.[1]

As early as June 2024, the IDF was mapping tens of thousands of reservists who lacked unit assignments or had been released from reserve service before the standard retirement age, as part of a broader effort to expand reserve forces amid prolonged fighting.[9] A proposal at that stage envisioned a light, unarmored reserve division, though the IDF had not yet determined which regional command it would serve or defined a precise operational mission.[9]

By September 2024, reporting cited Army Radio military correspondent Doron Kadosh describing a new formation being established as the 96th Division, also referred to as the David Division, with planned missions including border defense, possibly in the Jordan Valley, and protecting Israeli communities during fast-moving incidents.[10] The plan at that point called for five brigades organized by geographic area, with soldiers serving where they lived and keeping their weapons at home, targeting a total force of approximately 15,000 soldiers.[10] Thousands of people aged 35 and older who had previously received exemptions from reserve duty had already enlisted, filling roughly 25 percent of planned positions.[10] The IDF's first Bedouin battalion was to be included in the formation, and 27 battalion commanders and most company commanders had already been approved, with brigade commanders expected to be appointed shortly.[10] The IDF estimated at that stage that the division would be ready for its missions by mid-to-late 2025.[10]

An October 2024 assessment by the Institute for National Security Studies described the new territorial division, numbered 96, as intended to defend communities, vital installations, and transportation routes in the rear, drawing a clear distinction between this territorial-defense formation and the addition of conventional maneuvering field divisions.[11]

On October 30, 2024, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi announced and approved the establishment of an eastern division to protect Israel's eastern border, after examining the military's operational needs and defense capabilities in the area.[7] Halevi stated that strengthening the border with Jordan had been a goal before the war and that subsequent events had "added urgency" to its fulfillment.[7] The division was to operate under IDF Central Command.[7]

The security context for the eastern border included concerns about arms smuggling into the West Bank — known by its original, indigenous Jewish name of Judea and Samaria — and cross-border attacks.[7] At the time of the announcement, the Jordan Valley Regional Brigade was responsible for approximately 150 kilometers of Israeli territory between the Dead Sea and Hamat Gader.[7]

December 2024 reporting described the IDF's plan for the 96th Division as a light-infantry reserve formation with five regional brigades organized around where volunteers lived. Its planned duties encompassed border defense and responses to sudden events in members' home regions, with a target force of 15,000 soldiers aged 38–58, 80 percent of them volunteers.[5] The planned brigades included a Bedouin battalion and one built around former Navy sailors.[5]

The formation includes five geographically based reserve brigades collectively referred to as the David Brigades.[1] A May 2025 Ynet feature identified them as Galil–Golan for the Golan Heights; Yizre'eli for the Galilee and Valleys; Yehonatan for central Israel and the Shfela; Uri for the area from Jerusalem to Ashkelon; and Negbah for Beersheba, the northern Negev, and the south.[4] A parallel Globes report instead used the name Tel Hai for the northern brigade and listed the commanders as Shay Babad for Yehonatan, Dudu Cohen for Uri, Uri Levin for Tel Hai, Elad Tahron for Yizre'eli, and Yehuda Levin for Negbah.[12] It also noted that each brigade was intended to reinforce another region of the country when required.[12]

The Yehonatan Brigade, a five-battalion formation, was reported in May 2025 to be completing a major combat-training exercise at Tze'elim in preparation for its first operational activity.[4] Deputy brigade commander Shai Peretz, who joined the establishment effort in May 2024, described the exercise as bringing together soldiers from different units to align standards and enable them to work as a cohesive force.[4]

The structure is designed so that reservists serve near where they live, with vetted members eventually authorized to keep weapons and equipment at home to shorten response times in emergencies.[6] By December 2025, the IDF was preparing to issue approximately 10,000 reservists rifles and personal kit — including an M4 or upgraded M16 rifle, magazines, a combat vest, and a helmet — to be stored in IDF-issued safes following medical, psychological, and criminal-background checks.[6] The intended roles emphasized holding roadblocks, securing strategic points, and rapid response rather than hostage rescue.[6] Some battalions remained below 400 soldiers at that time, while turnout at recent training had approached 98 percent.[6]

By May 2025, the IDF had introduced five brigades into the formation, primarily composed of volunteer reservists organized according to where they lived, with the principal purpose of strengthening border defense and enabling rapid response to emerging threats.[13] At that stage, Globes reported that the formation was approximately a year into its establishment and had more than 8,000 fighters and commanders aged 23–58.[12]

Operational activation was significantly accelerated during Operation Rising Lion, which began on June 13, 2025. Ynet reported that a phase expected to take two months was completed in 48 hours, with Division 96 assuming responsibility for the eastern border and the prevention of infiltration from Jordan.[14] On June 29, JNS relayed an IDF announcement describing the new 96th "Gilead" Division as having been established within 48 hours after the conflict began.[8] Read alongside reports documenting roughly a year of prior organization and training, the 48-hour figure describes the accelerated establishment or activation of the eastern command rather than the creation of its personnel framework from scratch.[8][12] Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth said the fighting provided an opportunity to accelerate the division's establishment and praised the motivation and capabilities brought by personnel from regular service, career service, and the reserves.[8]

June reports did not describe the organizational relationship uniformly. One deployment report identified Brig. Gen. Oren Simcha as commander of the 96th Division and said it was preparing to take responsibility for the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan Valley Regional Brigade and a reservist infantry brigade operating under it.[2] A separate structural report described Gilad as an eastern regional division that would eventually cover the area from the Israel-Jordan-Syria tri-border to Ramon Airport, while distinguishing it from the volunteer-based 96th/David light-infantry formation whose personnel would help staff it.[3]

Maariv reported that the Gilad Division (96) was first activated operationally during the weekend of June 14–15, 2025, when Bluth and Simcha conducted an assessment covering readiness for defensive missions and counterterrorism.[15] Reserve Brigade 551 and reserve commando troops were among the reinforcements deployed to the sector.[14][15] A senior officer in the division captured the formation's underlying rationale, saying: "We remember exactly why it took six hours for forces to reach Nir Oz."[6]

By September 2025, a Mako report described the 96th Division as having been established after approximately a year and a half of building and training, with its sector extending from the Masada area to the Ein Gev area.[16] About 12,000 volunteer reservists had been recruited, the first battalion had recently begun operational duty, and the 909 collection battalion was being formed, with completion then expected by 2027.[16] The division's duties were described as holding the sector's defenses, responding to sudden incidents, supporting existing reserve activity, and participating in the broader war effort.[16]

The division also developed dedicated capabilities for the eastern sector. A team of approximately ten female soldiers from existing collection battalions was formed, and women completed training for mobile roles using JLTV vehicles adapted to the Jordan Valley, with the intended task of rapidly reaching operational incidents.[16] The IDF cited approximately 120 thwarted infiltration attempts and 78 drone detections in the Jordan Valley and Valleys area over the preceding year, with the annual rate of friction incidents running at roughly 15 percent of the 2024 figure.[16]

In May 2025, the Ynet feature noted that the formation was still short approximately 30 percent of its personnel, while a December 2025 Ynetnews account reported a goal of fully staffing all five brigades by the first quarter of 2026.[1][4] Two battalions from the David Brigades were already serving in the Jordan Valley, and other battalions were performing defensive duties in Judea and Samaria.[1]

A May 2026 General Staff exercise near the Dead Sea tested readiness for a surprise attack along the eastern border in the areas of the 96th and 80th Divisions.[17] The scenarios included infiltrations into communities, drone threats, and complex incidents; fighter jets and combat helicopters conducted simulated strikes, and special forces practiced aerial deployment for intervention in civilian areas.[17] By August 2026, the division was building the David Brigades and reserve combat battalions, procuring JLTV armored vehicles, weapons, and equipment for day and night operations, alongside training and qualification programs. Progress was described as exceeding the Planning Directorate's expectations.[18]

In July 2026, the Tel Hai Brigade — whose soldiers and commanders are predominantly residents of northern Israel — became the first formation from Division 96 to participate in operational activity along the Lebanon border.[19] Its battalions operated under Division 91 for that deployment; the report described a temporary assignment of the brigade rather than a transfer of Division 96's eastern-border responsibilities.[19]

A December 2025 INSS analysis judged the 96th Division's territorial-defense format to be effective and resource-efficient, noting that local units drawing on released reservists are immediately available because they rely on nearby residents and require lighter, less expensive armament than heavy field formations.[20] The analysis argued that similar formations should be established along all of Israel's borders.[20]

The model also attempts to harness a previously underused part of the reserve population — Israelis who had aged out of or been exempted from regular reserve duty — and channel them into structured, geographically anchored defensive roles.[1][6] The strategic concern attributed to IDF sources is that attempts to move terrorists and weapons from the east could create an additional front and enable attacks inside Israel.[14]

The sources do not use the division's designations uniformly. September and December 2024 accounts called the planned volunteer formation the 96th or David Division.[10][5] A May 2025 Ynet feature called it the Gilad Division (96), formerly David, while a June 2025 structural report treated Gilad as a regional division staffed partly by the volunteer-based 96th/David formation.[3][4] Later Ynetnews and JNS reports called the eastern command itself the 96th Gilead Division and described the David Brigades as units under it.[1][8]

Brigade labels also varied: Ynet used Galil–Golan for the northern formation, whereas Globes used Tel Hai.[4][12] These differences may reflect renaming or an evolving organization, but the available reporting does not conclusively reconcile the terminology or establish that every use of David, Gilad/Gilead, eastern division, and 96th Division refers to an identical organizational entity.