Description

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) (Hebrew: לארשיל הנגהה אבצ Tsva HaHagana LeYisrael (help·info),
"[Army] Force for the Defense of Israel"), often abbreviated with the Hebrew acronym ל"הצ Tsahal,
alternative English spelling Tzahal, is the name of Israel's armed forces, comprising the Israeli Army,
the Israeli Air Force and the Israeli Navy. "The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), founded in 1948, ranks
among the most battle-trained armed forces in the world, having had to defend the country in five major
wars." The IDF as of August, 2004 had (according to unofficial estimates) 168,000 personnel, including
107,500 conscripts. The army had 125,000; the navy had 8,000; the air force had 35,000. Full
mobilization to 576,000 could be quickly achieved with the reserves of 408,000.