A mllitary official tells JNS that the IDF is expanding the authority of division and brigade commanders as well as adopting a "community as fortress" concept.
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.
