‘Learning from Oct. 7th’ – IDF cancels holiday leave for soldiers

“There will be no more shutdowns in the IDF,” says new Chief-of-Staff Eyal Zamir.

By World Israel News Staff

New IDF Chief-of-Staff Eyal Zamir has cancelled a longstanding IDF policy of granting large swathes of soldiers leave during holidays, saying that the practice created vulnerabilities that contributed to the October 7th massacres.

“There will be no more shutdowns in the IDF,” Zamir stated during a meeting with senior commanders, according to Hebrew-language outlets.

He noted that individual soldiers would still have permission to take leave and furloughs but not in a manner that endangers the security and operational ability of entire bases and units.

Zamir added that “2025 will be a year of war” for the Israeli military and that returning the hostages is a top priority for the IDF.

Prior to October 7th, it was common for entire units and the majority of soldiers at military bases to be simultaneously granted leave for the Jewish holidays. This saw only a fraction of the standard operating crew in place, leaving bases vulnerable to infiltrations and seriously disrupting operations, especially during emergency situations.

The IDF was in such a “shutdown” period on October 7th, which occurred at the end of the week-long Sukkot festival and on the day of the Simchat Torah holiday.

Less than half the usual number of soldiers were stationed along the Gaza border that day, a fact that was well-understood by Hamas leadership.

According to an internal probe of the military’s failings on October 7th, slain Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar reportedly chose the date for the attack because he knew the number of soldiers on base was drastically reduced on Jewish holidays and the Sabbath.

Zamir recently ordered a surprise drill to test the IDF’s ability to fend off base infiltrations, according to a report from Hebrew-language Ynet.

Additionally, Zamir was reported to have ordered a surprise review of the Northern Command’s operational abilities.