General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces

The General Staff is a forum of senior commanders that leads the IDF under the Chief of the General Staff, who serves as the army's commander.[1] Together, the chief and the staff form the General Headquarters, described in IDF doctrine as the military's strategic, multiservice command for the Israeli theater and operational areas beyond it.[2] The staff assists the chief in commanding and controlling IDF forces and in managing both force employment and force buildup.[2]

Its work brings together regional commands, service branches, professional directorates, and coordinating staffs. General Staff decisions affect organizations inside and outside the IDF and are influenced by political, social, civilian, and organizational developments.[6] Its officers must balance force generation against force employment, professional priorities against resource constraints, and immediate operational demands against long-term planning.[6]

The General Staff presides over a military designed from its founding as "one unified service" headed by "one Chief of the General Staff."[7] Israel adopted that model to conserve manpower, avoid duplication, streamline procurement and training, and improve cooperation among land, air, and naval forces.[7] An academic summary attributes part of the IDF's capacity for initiative and adaptation to this unified structure and its relatively young officer corps.[8]

The process of establishing the General Staff began in mid-1947, before the anticipated war with neighboring Arab states, and continued during the War of Independence.[9] Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion signed Israel Defense Forces Ordinance Number 4 on May 26, 1948, and the Provisional Government issued it on May 28.[4][5] The ordinance created a unified force comprising land forces, a navy, and an air force; prohibited other armed forces; and required IDF personnel to swear allegiance to the State of Israel, its laws, and its lawful authorities.[5]

On June 27, senior commanders, including department and corps heads, gathered for their swearing-in ceremony. Chief of Staff Yaakov Dori was absent because of illness.[4] The ceremony took place at the Halama building, a former medical facility that had been bombed only weeks earlier. In 2018, serving General Staff members returned to the site, took a symbolic oath, and recreated the original group photograph.[10]

Creating a unified military took almost six and a half months, from May 28 to November 7, 1948. Lehi dissolved nationally at independence; Irgun units were disbanded after the Altalena affair, with their members joining individually; and the Palmach was dissolved by order of the chief of staff effective November 7.[5] The new IDF began the war small and poorly equipped.[8]

Several General Staff branches developed during the fighting. The Operations Branch became the principal body overseeing operational activity, with departments for planning, intelligence, support, engineering, and communications. Yigael Yadin led the branch in practice and advised the General Staff across a broad range of matters.[9] The Planning Directorate was established on June 2, 1948, under Major General Yohanan Ratner.[11] Mordechai Maklef became Deputy Chief of Staff in October 1949 and, one month later, was also appointed head of the General Staff Branch, an arrangement the cited study describes for 1949–1953.[9]

Basic Law: The Military, adopted in 1976, defines the IDF as the army of the state and places it under the authority of the government. The minister responsible for the army on the government's behalf is the minister of defense.[3] The law identifies the Chief of Staff as the army's supreme command level, makes the chief subject to the government and subordinate to the defense minister, and provides for appointment by the government on the defense minister's recommendation.[3]

In practice, the government appoints the chief on the recommendation of the prime minister and minister of defense for a three-year term that is usually extended by one year.[12] The Chief of the General Staff is the only IDF officer holding the rank of Rav Aluf, equivalent to lieutenant general, and usually serves no more than four years.[7]

IDF strategy describes the Chief of the General Staff as the IDF's sole operational commander, exercising command through the General Command. That headquarters coordinates the Principal Commands, allocates operational resources, and balances missions among operational arenas.[13] The command-and-control concept combines unity of command with mission command: every commander is subordinate to one commander at a given time, while commanders may—and when necessary must—depart from an original plan as combat conditions change.[13]

A historical INSS study presents Ben-Gurion's founding concept as one in which the Chief of Staff commanded IDF forces while remaining subordinate to the government. Under that interpretation, the government activated military forces through the chief rather than commanding them directly.[9]

One published description places the General Staff forum at the Chief of the General Staff plus approximately 24 major generals and brigadier generals responsible for IDF branches and departments.[1] The figure is approximate because membership and organizational definitions change over time. Senior officers immediately below the chief are major generals, or Alufim, who head headquarters divisions and command the Air Force, Navy, and territorial or special commands.[7] Air Force and Navy commanders both command their services and advise the chief as General Staff members.[7]

IDF strategy divides the Principal Commands into regional and vocational commands. It lists the Northern, Central, Southern, and Home Front Commands as regional commands and identifies vocational commands for Air, Navy, Cyber, Intelligence, Logistics, and C4I.[13] The three territorial commands cover the country and its frontier areas, while the Home Front Command performs civil-defense functions. It was established after the Gulf War to relieve territorial commands of duties such as first aid, firefighting, casualty evacuation, closing areas, and arranging alternative housing.[7]

Other functional commands have included the Armored Corps, Field Forces Command, Nahal Command, and Training Command. The Field Forces Command was established after the Yom Kippur War to improve joint training and coordination among infantry, artillery, armor, and engineering forces.[7]

The IDF spokesperson is a General Staff member with the rank of brigadier general and is directly subordinate to the chief.[14] The Military Advocate General also sits on the General Staff. The Military Advocate General's Corps enforces military and criminal law and provides legal advice, while its head is professionally subject to the law rather than the military chain of command.[15]

The Operations Directorate prepares the IDF for war, plans the use of military force, coordinates General Staff work, promotes cooperation among branches, and makes military recommendations to the relevant political authorities.[16] Historical records show the General Staff deliberating during the Six-Day War, including testimony associated with Chief of Staff Yitzhak Rabin and commanders David Elazar and Uzi Narkis.[17]

The Planning Directorate is responsible for strategic planning, military organization, and force buildup. The cited IDF description lists a Planning Division, Strategic Division, and Division for Foreign Affairs.[18] Its organization has changed repeatedly: it was established in 1948, later reduced to a department, reestablished after the Yom Kippur War, and reorganized again in 1994, 2006, and 2015.[11]

The Technological and Logistics Directorate provides multiservice logistics and supports continuous fighting on land, at sea, and in the air. It includes the Logistics, Medical, and Ordnance Corps.[19] Military Intelligence's Intelligence Research and Assessment Division has historically prepared Israel's National Intelligence Assessment, while former senior officers have described the Operations and Planning bodies as central to operational and strategic policy development.[20]

The Chief of the General Staff is the IDF's highest-ranking officer and holds the unique rank of lieutenant general.[7] Under IDF strategy, the chief commands IDF campaigns, assigns efforts and missions to Principal Commands, and establishes the strategic and operational concepts governing those missions.[13]

Yaakov Dori became the first chief in 1948. The succession thereafter included Yigael Yadin, Mordechai Maklef, Moshe Dayan, Yitzhak Rabin, Rafael Eitan, Ehud Barak, Gabi Ashkenazi, Benny Gantz, Gadi Eisenkot, Aviv Kochavi, Herzi Halevi, and Eyal Zamir.[21] Rabin headed the Operations Directorate from 1959 to 1961, served concurrently as its head and deputy chief from 1961 to 1963, and was appointed the seventh chief on January 1, 1964.[22] Eisenkot, the twenty-first chief, assumed office in February 2015 and served until 2019.[23]

Eyal Zamir became the twenty-fourth Chief of the General Staff on March 5, 2025, succeeding Herzi Halevi.[24] At his induction he said, "I assume command of the IDF today with reverence and humility," and referred to "the immense responsibility placed upon me."[25] His previous senior positions included commander of the 36th Division, head of the Ground Forces Staff, military secretary to the prime minister, commander of Southern Command, Deputy Chief of the General Staff, and director general of the Ministry of Defense.[26]

The Deputy Chief of the General Staff traditionally coordinates force-buildup activity, long-term planning, budgeting, and work with parts of the Ministry of Defense.[27] Basic Law: The Military does not regulate that office or provide for automatic succession. Temporary replacement of an incapacitated or unavailable chief has instead been arranged case by case.[27]

The General Staff's internal distribution of authority has changed repeatedly. A 1999 reorganization established the Operations Branch and divided responsibilities previously concentrated in the General Staff Branch, contributing to uncertainty between the Operations and Planning Branches.[9] In 2005, Chief of Staff Dan Halutz proposed separate force-buildup and force-employment tracks. After Gabi Ashkenazi became chief in 2007, implementation was reversed and work began on an order regulating General Staff and headquarters activity.[9]

Aviv Kochavi's Tnufa ("Momentum") plan, presented in February 2020, proposed dividing the Planning Directorate's responsibilities between a Multi-Branch Force Buildup Directorate and a Strategy and Iran Directorate.[11] The source presents this as a proposal at that time, not proof that every element remained in effect in later years.

A 2011 report described the creation of a Depth Corps Force to coordinate multidisciplinary operations far from Israel's borders.[28] The proposed command would bring together Sayeret Matkal, Flotilla 13, Shaldag, and the 669 airborne search-and-rescue force for selected missions under the Chief of the General Staff. Modeled on the United States Joint Special Operations Command, it was intended for long-range counterterrorism, anti-smuggling, and anti-proliferation operations. Its component units were not to be assigned permanently but assembled when a mission required their combined capabilities.[28]

A study based on 20 interviews with current and former General Staff division and corps heads found that commanders used professional networks to enlist support and advance missions. The study found less use of networks for joint learning, collective problem-solving, and developing new concepts, which its authors identified as a leadership challenge.[6]

The General Staff operates as a continuing decision-making forum for immediate operations and long-term force development. In August 2026, Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir convened a meeting lasting approximately three and a half hours on armored formations, reserve brigades, procurement, autonomous systems, and force development after years of high-intensity combat.[29] He emphasized that current force structure reflects decisions made years earlier and that planning must look at least three years ahead, stating: "Today's force development is tomorrow's victory."[29]

In July 2026, Zamir said the IDF would finalize a General Staff organizational structure devoted to robotics, drones, and artificial intelligence. He set the goal of making the IDF a global leader in unmanned systems for defense and offense and connected the initiative to lessons from the October 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attack and the subsequent war.[30] In July 2025, seven senior appointments affected the Northern and Home Front Commands, Depth Corps, Planning and Force Design Directorate, Military Colleges, Northern Corps, and Technological and Logistics Directorate.[31]

Archival material also documents the forum's historical role. Six-Day War records are organized under "The General Staff Deliberations" and identify testimony from Rabin, Elazar, and Narkis.[17] A 1974–1975 document lists the General Staff Public Relations Office at 9 Itamar Ben Avi Street in Tel Aviv and names Colonels Matan Vilnai, Ehud Brook, and Yossi Peled in connection with an IDF leadership program.[32]

The General Staff is the institutional link between Israel's civilian leadership and the IDF's operational command. IDF doctrine assigns the General Command responsibility for translating government and defense-minister decisions into military plans, directing multiservice operations, and managing force buildup.[2] Its remit therefore connects immediate operational command with long-term decisions about military organization and capability.

The unified command model has been a defining feature of the IDF since 1948. It was designed to conserve manpower, avoid duplication, streamline procurement and training, and facilitate inter-service cooperation.[7] Academic analysis also associates the structure with institutional initiative and adaptation.[8]

The General Staff preserves and revises military doctrine through strategic planning, operational experience, and repeated organizational reform. The Planning Directorate connects politico-military planning with resource programming and multi-year force buildup.[11] Recent attention to autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, and drones illustrates how the institution adapts its structure and procurement priorities to emerging forms of warfare.[29][30]

The relationship among the government, the defense minister, and the Chief of the General Staff has periodically generated public debate. In 2023, outgoing chief Aviv Kochavi argued that the IDF chief reports to one minister—the minister of defense—and that creating a second chain of command would damage readiness. His comments concerned proposals affecting civilian administration in the West Bank—known by its original, indigenous Jewish name of Judea and Samaria.[33] The Basic Law clearly establishes governmental authority and the chief's subordination to the defense minister, but broader institutional interpretations have not always been expressed in identical terms.[3]

The status of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff has also prompted reform proposals. Basic Law: The Military does not define the office or provide automatic authority to replace the chief. A proposal to define the deputy as the army's next-most-senior officer and automatic replacement has been presented as a recommendation rather than enacted law.[27]

Published descriptions also differ slightly on the General Staff's membership, likely because of changing structures or definitions. The figure of approximately 24 major generals and brigadier generals should therefore not be treated as a permanent statutory number.[1] Similarly, organizational proposals such as the 2020 Tnufa restructuring describe plans at the time of publication rather than necessarily defining the institution in later years.[11]