IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi said Thursday that 2020 saw a decrease in the number of Israeli casualties in conflicts and war, a substantial decrease in the number of rockets fired at Israel, and many successful missions carried out by the IDF in the Middle East and beyond.
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"This year, we upheld the IDF's most important mission – to provide protection and security," said Kochavi. "We prevented all attempts of infiltration into Israel and saw a substantial decrease in casualties and rocket attacks on Israel."
According to military statistics, 174 rockets, missiles, and mortar shells were fired at Israel this year, compared to the 1,296 rockets fired in 2019 and 1,164 in 2018.
Two Israelis were killed in terrorist attacks this year, Staff Sgt. Amit Ben Yigal and the Rabbi Shai Ohayon. There were two military and seven civilian casualties the year before, and two military and nine civilian casualties in 2018.
Kochavi stressed that the IDF's operational activities weakened Iran's ability to establish a foothold in Syria, saying that "the Middle East is the most factious, divided, and violent region in the world."
"We have attacked 500 Iranian targets and carried out multiple clandestine operations on all six fronts," Kochavi said. He referenced the fact that the past year has seen an increase in the pace and quality of "the campaign between wars" that involves a series of covert operations conducted by the IDF to keep the next war at bay by preventing Israel's enemies from developing capabilities that will enable them to violate its deterrence.
According to information in Israel, there has been a significant decrease in the number of Iranian operatives in Syria, as Iranian bases, camps, and military headquarters were moved from the Damascus area to northern and eastern Syria. The weapons transfer between Iran and Syria has also reduced significantly in recent months.
"We see a clear slowdown in Iran's efforts to establish a presence in Syria as a result of IDF activity. But we still have a long way to go to achieve our goal," Kochavi added, noting that this year the IDF carried out an especially large number of its operations through cyberwarfare.
Kochavi also noted that the Abraham Accords and normalization deals "have a positive impact on the security aspect in the Middle East."
Meanwhile, the IDF has formulated its "definition of victory" at the demand of the chief of staff and has instructed its arms and flanks to formulate within the next six months how each unit can operate based on it.
Additionally, top IDF officials are set to meet in January to discuss the implementation of its multiyear work plan, "Momentum" detailing options for further streamlining efforts and plans relating to 2021 specifically.
The IDF noted that its plan has gaps due to the fact that the government has not yet approved a state budget, thus setting back procurement plans, work on the Israel-Lebanon border fence, as deploying Iron Dome air defense systems nationwide.
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