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IDF Relearning the Basics While Modernizing for Future Threats
Israeli troops during counterterrorism activity in Tulkarem, northwestern Samaria, September 2024. Photo: IDF.
JNS.org – The Israel Defense Forces and the Defense Ministry must soon make significant decisions about the future structure and capabilities of the military, prompted by lessons learned from the war it has fought since Oct. 7, 2023, and the changing threat landscape.
In the coming months, the IDF will have to propose a multi-year force-building plan, which needs to receive government budgetary commitment to be implemented, to replace the previous plan, Momentum, which began in 2020 and continued until the war broke out.
Momentum helped establish a network-centered war machine, in which IDF branches cooperated to quickly detect and fire on enemy targets. Momentum argued that seizing enemy territory isn’t the most important thing, placing the emphasis instead on destroying enemy capabilities.
Eado Hecht, a senior research fellow at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies and an analyst specializing in military theory and military history, told JNS there are several lessons for the IDF to learn from the war.
“Starting about 30 years ago, the IDF adopted an incorrect theory of future wars based on an incorrect appraisal of the direction of international politics in general and in the Middle East in particular,” Hecht said.
This mistaken assessment was a local version of “the end of history fallacy,” he added, the expectation that major wars and conflicts were a relic of history. Instead, the expectation was that modern technology and revolutions in warfare would enable Israel to make do “with only counter-guerilla, counter-terrorism capabilities,” and that hi-tech intelligence and air force capabilities would be sufficient to defeat any threat.
This theory led the IDF to downgrade its ground forces, Hecht noted, leading to a huge reduction in size, in which units were canceled and tens of thousands of personnel discharged from service, alongside the removal of a wide variety of weapon types from use. “Fields of knowledge necessary to conducting massed ground maneuvers were erased from training regimens,” he said.
“The first lesson of this war is that what became derogatorily known as ‘the old-type wars’ were not old or gone—they still exist and still require the same type of forces they did then and the same type of military theories, doctrine and training they did then. The IDF needs to relearn and rebuild its capability and competence in conducting massed ground forces maneuvers,” said Hecht.
“The second major lesson of the war is that the IDF had reduced its size to a point where it was barely capable of doing what was needed, in fact less than what was needed,” he said.
Two-front wars
While in the 1967 Six-Day War and the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the IDF was able to carry out defensive and offensive operations on two fronts simultaneously, against armies stronger than Hamas and Hezbollah, in the current Swords of Iron war, the IDF could defend on two fronts but only conduct offensive actions on one front at a time, Hecht said. Even on one front, the IDF had to act sequentially rather than simultaneously attack enemy forces across the board.
“The IDF will have to again increase the size of its ground forces. The answers to the questions ‘How much does it need?’ given the size and character of the future threats, and ‘How much can it expand?’ given the size of Israel’s manpower pool and economy, create a difficult tension that will have to be resolved gradually over the coming years,” said Hecht.
“In my opinion, the IDF needs three more maneuver divisions—but raising them will be very difficult, especially in regard to acquiring the necessary amount of equipment,” he added.
Hecht said that a third lesson is “the need to rebuild the reserves component of the army. The IDF not only reduced their numbers but also deliberately reduced their training—compelling it to retrain many units before employing them because people no longer remembered their skills.”
He highlighted the importance of traditional weaponry, saying the “fourth major lesson is that the weapons of old are still important. During the war, nobody asked for more keyboards and fancy equipment, everybody wanted more tanks, more artillery and more [armored] bulldozers. Some new tools are very useful—especially small drones and quadcopters—and every unit should have them, but they do not change the fundamentals of ground combat. They are an extra capability; they do not replace the veteran capabilities that were reduced because the IDF believed they were no longer needed.”
Finally, he said, Israel will have to adapt to the need to conduct long wars, which require large forces and large ammunition stockpiles, as well as spare parts, accompanied by enhanced wartime production to reduce the dependence on United States aid.
Hecht added that the IDF proved itself highly capable of conducting focused, powerful air-to-ground campaigns, as well as special operations and counter-guerilla operations, but that these do not replace the need for traditional massed ground operations.
Lengthen mandatory service?
On Dec. 5, Army Radio reported that the IDF would be purchasing some 15,000 quadcopters, enlarging its Combat Engineering Corps and creating new infantry units that would have access to advanced armored personnel carriers. In addition, female field observation soldiers will be armed with personal firearms, as part of changes to the ground forces, and observation posts will be moved away from border areas, following lessons learned from the Oct. 7 surprise assault by Hamas.
The IDF is also seeking to lengthen mandatory service to 36 months for most male soldiers to boost personnel numbers. The report said the ground forces have been conducting force build-up processes already during the war over the past year, aimed at creating a larger and better-equipped ground army.
On Nov. 25, the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Finance announced in a joint statement that the Ministerial Procurement Committee approved billions of shekels in procurement and force-building projects for the IDF.
The acquisitions were made in line with the recommendations of the Nagel Committee, which was established in August 2024 to provide consultations on the security budget and the future of Israeli military force building. The committee approved several acquisitions, including the Reshef project—the next navy corvette—as well as the acquisition of hundreds of Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTVs).
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US Immigration Judge Rules Palestinian Columbia Student Khalil Can Be Deported
Mahmoud Khalil speaks to members of media about the Revolt for Rafah encampment at Columbia University during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza, in New York City, US, June 1, 2024. Photo: Jeenah Moon via Reuters Connect
A US immigration judge ruled on Friday that Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil can be deported, allowing President Donald Trump’s administration to proceed with its effort to remove the Columbia University student from the United States a month after his arrest in New York City.
The ruling by Judge Jamee Comans of the LaSalle Immigration Court in Louisiana was not a final determination of Khalil’s fate. But it represented a significant victory for the Republican president in his efforts to deport foreign pro-Palestinian students who are in the United States legally and, like Khalil, have not been charged with any crime.
Citing the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act, Trump-appointed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined last month that Khalil could harm American foreign policy interests and should be deported for his “otherwise lawful” speech and activism.
Comans said that she did not have the authority to overrule a secretary of state. The judge denied a motion by Khalil’s lawyers to subpoena Rubio and question him about the “reasonable grounds” he had for his determination under the 1952 law.
The judge’s decision came after a combative 90-minute hearing held in a court located inside a jail complex for immigrants surrounded by double-fenced razor wire run by private government contractors in rural Louisiana.
Khalil, a prominent figure in the anti-Israel student protest movement that has roiled Columbia’s New York City campus, was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria, holds Algerian citizenship and became a US lawful permanent resident last year. Khalil’s wife is a US citizen.
For now, Khalil remains in the Louisiana jail where federal authorities transferred him after his March 8 arrest at his Columbia University apartment building some 1,200 miles (1,930 km) away. Comans gave Khalil’s lawyers until April 23 to apply for relief before she considers whether to issue a deportation order. An immigration judge can rule that a migrant cannot be deported because of possible persecution in a home country, among other limited grounds.
In a separate case in New Jersey, US District Judge Michael Farbiarz has blocked deportation while he considers Khalil’s claim that his arrest was made in violation of the US Constitution’s First Amendment protections for freedom of speech.
KHALIL ADDRESSES THE JUDGE
As Comans adjourned, Khalil leaned forward, asking to address the court. Comans hesitated, then agreed.
Khalil quoted her remarks at his hearing on Tuesday that nothing was more important to the court than “due process rights and fundamental fairness.”
“Clearly what we witnessed today, neither of these principles were present today or in this whole process,” Khalil said. “This is exactly why the Trump administration has sent me to this court, a thousand miles away from my family.”
The judge said her ruling turned on an undated, two-page letter signed by Rubio and submitted to the court and to Khalil’s counsel.
Khalil’s lawyers, appearing via a video link, complained they were given less than 48 hours to review Rubio’s letter and evidence submitted by the Trump administration to Comans this week. Marc Van Der Hout, Khalil’s lead immigration attorney, repeatedly asked for the hearing to be delayed. Comans reprimanded him for what the judge said was straying from the hearing’s purpose, twice saying he had “an agenda.”
Comans said that the 1952 immigration law gave the secretary of state “unilateral judgment” to make his determination about Khalil.
Khalil should be removed, Rubio wrote, for his role in “antisemitic protests and disruptive activities, which fosters a hostile environment for Jewish students in the United States.”
Rubio’s letter did not accuse Khalil of breaking any laws, but said the State Department can revoke the legal status of immigrants who could harm US foreign policy interests even when their beliefs, associations or statements are “otherwise lawful.”
After Comans ended the hearing, several of Khalil’s supporters wept as they left the courtroom. Khalil stood and smiled at them, making a heart shape with his hands.
Khalil has said criticism of the US government’s support of Israel is being wrongly conflated with antisemitism. His lawyers told the court they were submitting into evidence Khalil’s interviews last year with CNN and other news outlets in which he denounces antisemitism and other prejudice.
His lawyers have said the Trump administration was targeting him for protected speech including the right to criticize American foreign policy.
“Mahmoud was subject to a charade of due process, a flagrant violation of his right to a fair hearing and a weaponization of immigration law to suppress dissent,” Van Der Hout said in a statement after the hearing.
The American immigration court system is run and its judges are appointed by the US Justice Department, separate from the government’s judicial branch.
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Hamas Releases Video of Israeli-American Hostage Held in Gaza
FILE PHOTO: Yael, Adi and Mika Alexander, the family of Edan Alexander, the American-Israeli and Israel Defense Forces soldier taken hostage during the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, pose for a photograph during an interview with Reuters at the Alexander’s home in Tenafly, New Jersey, U.S., December 14, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Stephani Spindel/File Photo
Hamas on Saturday released a video purportedly of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, who has been held in Gaza since he was captured by Palestinian terrorists on October 7, 2023.
In the undated video, the man who introduces himself as Edan Alexander states he has been held in Gaza for 551 days. The man questions why he is still being held and pleads for his release.
Alexander is a soldier serving in the Israeli military.
The edited video was released as Jews began to mark Passover, a weeklong holiday that celebrates freedom. Alexander’s family released a statement acknowledging the video that said the holiday would not be one of freedom as long as Edan and the 58 other hostages in Gaza remained in captivity.
Hamas has released several videos over the course of the war of hostages begging to be released. Israeli officials have dismissed past videos as propaganda that is designed to put pressure on the government. The war is in its eighteenth month.
Hamas released 38 hostages under a ceasefire that began on January 19. In March, Israel’s military resumed its ground and aerial campaign on Gaza, abandoning the ceasefire after Hamas rejected proposals to extend the truce without ending the war.
Israeli officials say that campaign will continue until the remaining 59 hostages are freed and Gaza is demilitarized. Hamas insists it will free hostages only as part of a deal to end the war and has rejected demands to lay down its arms.
The US, Qatar and Egypt are mediating between Hamas and Israel.
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Some Progress in Hostage Talks But Major Issues Remain, Source tells i24NEWS
Demonstrators hold signs and pictures of hostages, as relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas protest demanding the release of all hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Itai Ron
i24 News – A source familiar with the ongoing negotiations for a hostage deal confirmed to i24NEWS on Friday that some progress has been made in talks, currently taking place with Egypt, including the exchange of draft proposals. However, it remains unclear whether Hamas will ultimately accept the emerging framework. According to the source, discussions are presently focused on reaching a cohesive outline with Cairo.
A delegation of senior Hamas officials is expected to arrive in Cairo tomorrow. While there is still no finalized draft, even Arab sources acknowledge revisions to Egypt’s original proposal, reportedly including a degree of flexibility in the number of hostages Hamas is willing to release.
The source noted that Hamas’ latest proposal to release five living hostages is unacceptable to Israel, which continues to adhere to the “Witkoff framework.” At the core of this framework is the release of a significant number of hostages, alongside a prolonged ceasefire period—Israel insists on 40 days, while Hamas is demanding more. The plan avoids intermittent pauses or distractions, aiming instead for uninterrupted discussions on post-war arrangements.
As previously reported, Israel is also demanding comprehensive medical and nutritional reports on all living hostages as an early condition of the deal.
“For now,” the source told i24NEWS, “Hamas is still putting up obstacles. We are not at the point of a done deal.” Israeli officials emphasize that sustained military and logistical pressure on Hamas is yielding results, pointing to Hamas’ shift from offering one hostage to five in its most recent agreement.
Negotiators also assert that Israel’s demands are fully backed by the United States. Ultimately, Israeli officials are adamant: no negotiations on the “day after” will take place until the hostage issue is resolved—a message directed not only at Hamas, but also at mediators.
The post Some Progress in Hostage Talks But Major Issues Remain, Source tells i24NEWS first appeared on Algemeiner.com.