The Army on High Alert: From High-Tech Doctrine to Prolonged Attrition

Ahead of the October 2026 elections, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir placed the military on its highest alert level and froze all military leave, deploying tens of thousands of troops along the borders of Gaza, Lebanon, and the West Bank (ynetglobal, 2026; walla.co.il, n.d.; Anadolu, 2026). The wide deployment was designed to prevent planned disruptions around voting day, accompanied by a full land crossing closure and a ban on Palestinian laborers entering Israeli communities (ynetglobal, 2026; ynet, 2026; The Hindu, 2026). Tension escalated sharply following a deadly attack at the Yehuda Junction near Hebron that killed Staff Sgt. Ron Yonatan Roytman and Sgt. Yuval Shai Svilem (PBS News, 2026). In response, security forces initiated an extensive cordon-and-search operation in the city featuring home demolitions (Jerusalem Post — front page, 2026b; The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com, n.d.). Concurrently, dozens of fighter jets conducted an 800-mile flight near the Iranian border as an overt show of deterrence (Anadolu, 2026).

This posture contrasts markedly with late 2024, when the military shifted its primary focus from the Gaza Strip toward the northern border and confrontation with Iran (wikipedia.org, n.d.-b; Wars of Israel, n.d.). In September 2024, the military launched Operation Northern Arrows and killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, followed by regular and reserve divisions maneuvering across southern Lebanon against Radwan Force positions (Wars of Israel, n.d.; timesofisrael.com, n.d.-b; www.idf.il, n.d.; strategiecs.com, n.d.). In Gaza, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed in Rafah in October 2024, and southern operations transitioned from broad divisional advances into targeted raids (FDD's Long War Journal, 2024; wikipedia.org, n.d.-a). Confronting Tehran, the air force executed Operation Days of Repentance against air defense systems and missile facilities, while a November ceasefire framework in Lebanon mandated Hezbollah's withdrawal north of the Litani River (Wars of Israel, n.d.).

Over a broader five-year arc, the military was forced to abandon its earlier operating doctrine (Wars of Israel, n.d.). The Momentum plan initiated in 2020 by former Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi relied on a compact force built around stand-off precision firepower, digital networking, and automated border barriers (Wars of Israel, n.d.). The surprise cross-border assault on October 7, 2023, decisively dismantled the premise that advanced sensors could replace massed ground troops, requiring the call-up of roughly 360,000 reservists (Wars of Israel, n.d.). In the wake of extended multi-front combat, the military reversed course: tank formations were expanded, munitions stockpiles rebuilt, and mandatory service for men was extended back to 36 months alongside higher annual reserve thresholds (Wars of Israel, n.d.).

Behind the headline operations lies an acute personnel strain that public discourse often overlooks (Jerusalem Post — front page, 2026c; Jerusalem Post — front page, 2026g). Health officials and military experts report that the IDF and the Defense Ministry struggle with a surging volume of reservists seeking mental health care after repeated deployments (Jerusalem Post — front page, 2026c). Furthermore, reallocating Border Police to civil enforcement and investigations of extremist Israeli violence under Operation Olive Leaf required IDF training units to assume standard checkpoint operations in the West Bank (בחדרי חרדים, 2026a). Simultaneously, the political fight over ultra-Orthodox yeshiva conscription has intensified, with Haredi leadership rejecting draft orders while other political factions demand strict compliance to address severe troop deficits (רשת 13, 2026b; Jerusalem Post — front page, 2026a; Jerusalem Post — front page, 2026g).

Broad structural uncertainties continue to surround the military's long-term endurance across multiple fronts (ynetglobal, 2026; Anadolu, 2026). The actual degree of long-term impairment to Iranian missile production facilities remains independently unverified despite repeated strikes and deterrence sorties (Anadolu, 2026). Closer to home, the aftermath of operations in Hebron reveals conflicting accounts, with Israeli defense officials citing roughly 2,000 displaced residents while local municipal Palestinian authorities provide differing evacuation assessments (timesofisrael.com, n.d.-a). Whether legal draft enforcement will successfully expand the regular ranks, and whether routine movement closures can prevent multi-front friction during political transitions, remains open (Jerusalem Post — front page, 2026g; walla.co.il, n.d.; ynet, 2026).