The Israel Defense Forces

1947–1949

Fighting between Jewish and Arab forces followed the UN partition vote in November 1947. After Israel declared independence in May 1948, neighboring Arab armies invaded. The IDF was established on 26 May as the state's unified military. The war ended with armistice agreements in 1949, securing Israel's independence at a cost of about 6,000 Israeli lives.

1956–1957

Israel attacked Egyptian forces on 29 October 1956 amid fedayeen attacks and restrictions on Israeli shipping, coordinating with Britain and France during the Suez crisis. Israeli forces captured Sinai and Gaza. Under international pressure, Israel completed its withdrawal in March 1957; the UN Emergency Force deployed on the Egyptian side of the frontier.

1967-06-05 – 1967-06-10

After regional escalation and Egypt's closure of the Straits of Tiran, Israel opened the war with Operation Focus against Egyptian airfields. Fighting expanded to Jordan and Syria. By the ceasefires, Israel controlled Sinai, Gaza, the West Bank including East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights. Israeli paratroopers reached Jerusalem's Old City and Western Wall on 7 June.

1967–1970

A period of artillery exchanges, raids and air fighting, centered on the Suez Canal after the Six-Day War. Egypt sought to force an Israeli withdrawal from Sinai; Israel fortified the canal line and struck Egyptian military targets, including farther inland. Soviet personnel supported Egypt. A ceasefire in August 1970 stopped the main fighting without a territorial settlement.

1972

The name commonly used for the Mossad-led campaign against people Israel linked to Black September and the PLO after the murder of 11 Israeli team members at the Munich Olympics. The related IDF raid, Spring of Youth, struck PLO leaders in Beirut in April 1973. The covert campaign also included a fatal error: agents killed Ahmed Bouchikhi, an innocent man, in Lillehammer in 1973.

1973-10

Egypt and Syria launched a coordinated surprise attack on 6 October, Yom Kippur. Egyptian forces crossed the Suez Canal and Syrian forces attacked on the Golan Heights. After initial setbacks and heavy losses, Israel counterattacked, crossed to the canal's western bank and advanced into Syria. October ceasefires were followed by disengagement agreements; the war exposed failures in Israel's warning and preparedness.

1976-07-03 – 1976-07-04

Israeli forces flew to Uganda to free about 100 hostages held at Entebbe after the hijacking of Air France Flight 139. The operation used Hercules transports and a ground force led by Dan Shomron, with Sayeret Matkal assaulting the terminal. Its commander Yonatan Netanyahu was killed. The rescue was subsequently named Operation Yonatan in his memory.

1978-03

Launched after the Coastal Road massacre, the operation targeted PLO bases in southern Lebanon to reduce attacks on northern Israel. Israeli forces advanced to the Litani River but did not enter Tyre. Eighteen Israeli soldiers died during the operation. The Security Council established UNIFIL, and Israeli forces withdrew in June 1978.

1981-06-07

Eight Israeli F-16s, escorted by six F-15s, attacked and destroyed Iraq's Osirak reactor near Baghdad. Prime Minister Menachem Begin authorized the strike because Israel viewed the reactor as a route toward Iraqi nuclear weapons. The aircraft returned to Israel. The raid became the central early example of the policy known as the Begin Doctrine.

1982–1985

Israel invaded Lebanon on June 6, 1982, aiming to remove PLO forces from the northern border. The campaign reached Beirut, where a negotiated evacuation removed PLO fighters. Lebanese Christian militiamen subsequently massacred civilians at Sabra and Shatila; Israel's Kahan Commission found indirect Israeli responsibility and recommended removing Defense Minister Ariel Sharon. Israel withdrew to a southern security zone in 1985 and left it in 2000.

1984–1985

A secret airlift brought thousands of Ethiopian Jews from refugee camps in Sudan to Israel between November 1984 and January 1985. Belgian charter aircraft carried the passengers via Europe. Public disclosure led Sudan to halt the operation, leaving families separated. A subsequent American airlift, Operation Sheba, brought out more refugees in March 1985.

1991-05-24–1991-05-25

Israel airlifted more than 14,000 Ethiopian Jews from Addis Ababa as rebel forces approached the capital in May 1991. The operation used 34 military and civilian aircraft over roughly 36 hours. The IDF, Mossad, Foreign Ministry, Jewish Agency and Ethiopian Jewish activists coordinated the evacuation, with American diplomatic support.

2002-03–2002-05

Israel launched the operation on March 29, 2002, after a wave of suicide bombings, including the Passover attack at Netanya's Park Hotel. Troops entered West Bank cities to arrest militants and dismantle their infrastructure. In the Jenin battle, 23 Israeli soldiers were killed in total, including 13 in the April 9 ambush.

2006-07-12–2006-08-14

Hezbollah's July 12 cross-border attack and abduction of two Israeli soldiers triggered a war involving Israeli air, naval and ground operations in Lebanon and sustained Hezbollah rocket fire into northern Israel. Fighting ended with an August 14 ceasefire following UN Security Council Resolution 1701. The Winograd inquiry later examined failures in Israel's political and military decision-making.

2007-09-05–2007-09-06

Israeli aircraft destroyed a nuclear reactor under construction near Deir ez-Zor in Syria on the night of September 5–6, 2007. Israeli intelligence had identified the facility as a North Korean-assisted project. Israel publicly acknowledged the strike in March 2018; its operational name was Outside the Box.

2008-12-27–2009-01-18

Israel began airstrikes in Gaza on December 27, 2008, after continuing rocket attacks on Israeli communities. Ground forces entered on January 3, targeting Hamas positions, rocket-launching sites and tunnels with air and naval support. Israel's unilateral ceasefire took effect on January 18; the campaign also caused extensive destruction in Gaza.

2012-11-14–2012-11-21

The eight-day Gaza campaign began with the killing of Hamas military commander Ahmed Jabari. Israel struck rocket-launching sites, weapons stores and command facilities while Hamas and other groups fired more than 1,500 rockets, including toward Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Iron Dome intercepted 421 rockets; four Israeli civilians and two soldiers were killed.

2014-07-08–2014-08-26

Israel launched the Gaza operation following escalating rocket fire in July 2014. Ground troops entered on July 17 to destroy cross-border attack tunnels; the IDF reported destroying 32 tunnels during the campaign. Hamas and other groups continued rocket fire during the fighting, which ended with an August 26 ceasefire after repeated failed truces.

2018–2019

The IDF began searching for Hezbollah's cross-border attack tunnels in December 2018 and announced the discovery of a sixth tunnel in January 2019. Combat engineers exposed and neutralized the tunnels. Destruction work continued after the search phase ended; the large tunnel from Ramiyah was sealed in May 2019.

2021-05-10–2021-05-21

The Gaza campaign began after Hamas fired rockets toward Jerusalem on May 10, 2021. Israel struck rocket launchers, weapons stores, command facilities and underground tunnels while Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad continued firing at Israeli communities. A ceasefire took effect on May 21; the fighting did not remove Hamas from power.

2022-08-05–2022-08-07

Israel struck Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza after its threats of attacks following the arrest of Bassam al-Saadi in the West Bank. Israeli strikes killed commanders Tayseer Jabari and Khaled Mansour; Islamic Jihad fired rockets into Israel. Hamas stayed out of the fighting, which ended with an Egyptian-mediated ceasefire on August 7.

2023–2026

The war began with the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages into Gaza. Israel launched operations against Hamas and other armed groups, seeking to dismantle their military capabilities and return the hostages. Fighting expanded to Lebanon, Iran and other fronts. After the October 2025 Gaza ceasefire, Israeli operations continued along the Yellow Line. The recovery of Ran Gvili's body on January 26, 2026, completed the return of the hostages, living and deceased.

2024-09-23–2024-11-27

Israel expanded its campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon in September 2024 after sustained attacks on northern Israel. Airstrikes killed Hassan Nasrallah on September 27; ground operations targeted Hezbollah positions, weapons stores and tunnels in southern Lebanon. A ceasefire took effect on November 27. It did not end the conflict permanently: major fighting resumed in March 2026.

2025-06-13–2025-06-24

Israel began strikes on Iranian nuclear, missile and command targets on June 13, 2025. Iran retaliated with missiles and drones; a June 19 missile hit Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba. The United States separately struck Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan on June 22 in Operation Midnight Hammer. A US-mediated ceasefire took effect on June 24. These were the 2025 hostilities; Israel and the United States launched another campaign against Iran in February 2026.