IDF chief instructs military to increase readiness across all fronts ahead of Yom Kippur

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir ordered a military-wide readiness increase ahead of Yom Kippur. Reinforcement companies will deploy across Northern, Central, and Southern Commands. The Air Force will operate more armed aircraft, and the Navy will increase missile boat presence at sea. Reserve companies can move between commands as needed. The move follows Zamir's late-August decision to raise the West Bank alert level.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir instructed the military to increase readiness across all fronts ahead of Yom Kippur. Additional reinforcement companies will join troops already deployed in the Northern, Central, and Southern Commands, with a senior commander stationed in each sector throughout the holiday. The Air Force will operate with a larger number of armed aircraft, while the Navy will increase the number of missile boats at sea and strengthen its routine security presence along Israel's borders. Reserve companies will also be reinforced and can move between commands if needed. General Staff-level alert statuses will be established according to developments in each sector. The IDF stressed these forces are being added to existing deployments, not replacing them. The preparations follow Zamir's announcement at the end of August that the alert level in the West Bank had been raised ahead of the holiday period amid heightened tensions. He instructed the military to prepare active units and battalions for reinforcement missions and said there would be no operational pauses or reductions in combat forces during the holidays. The military also reinforced forces on Yom Kippur two years ago amid the war and heightened security tensions.