The Israel Defense Forces has begun to reformulate its defense doctrine and readiness plans for surprise scenarios across all sectors, implementing a series of shifts designed to prevent a recurrence of the systemic failures of Oct. 7, 2023, a military official told JNS in recent days.
According to a Nov. 22 report by Mako, the new defense plans formulated by the IDF Operations Directorate specifically include “releasing more authorities to field echelons” to speed up response times. The report noted that the plans are designed to better utilize the readiness of readiness squads already present in the communities.
The plans, formulated as part of the lessons learned from the massacre and the subsequent two years of multi-front war, represent a pivot away from centralized command in the initial stages of a surprise attack, instead empowering field commanders to act more autonomously. According to the military official who spoke to JNS, the updated directives include expanding the authorities of division and brigade commanders regarding the mobilization of troops.
The goal is to enable “shorter operational cycles” and significantly shorten air and ground readiness times, the source stated, ensuring that forces can jump into action without waiting for top-down orders from the General Staff that might be delayed by the fog of war. (Read More)