The Israel Defense Forces announced a new multi-year plan for the next five years, based on a budget framework of 350 billion shekels over the coming decade, as the military seeks to rebuild readiness after two years of war and prepare for future threats.
The plan, first revealed by Israel Hayom and known as "Hoshen," is slated to begin on April 1, 2026, barring unexpected operational developments, and to run through 2030.
The 350 billion shekel budget, roughly $111 billion at current exchange rates, does not include US military aid. That assistance will be discussed in the coming weeks by joint Israeli-US teams, led on the Israeli side by the director general of the Defense Ministry. If and when a framework for US aid is finalized, it will be incorporated into the multi-year plan.
According to the IDF, the plan is guided by three core principles: readiness for war, restoring the military's fitness after two years of sustained fighting, and adapting force buildup to future challenges. The plan takes into account lessons learned from the October 7 attacks, lessons already drawn from the war and those that will be formulated in the future, directives from the political leadership, and determinations by the chief of staff regarding the reference scenarios for which the military must prepare.
IDF officials stressed that the plan will be reviewed annually and adjusted as needed based on accumulated knowledge, developments and operational and intelligence assessments.
The IDF noted that the Hoshen plan is built around 12 primary efforts, symbolically corresponding to the 12 stones of the biblical breastplate representing the 12 tribes of Israel. The first effort, deliberately placed at the top of the list, focuses on caring for personnel worn down by two years of war, including conscripts, career soldiers and reservists.
Another major effort addresses wartime readiness throughout the years of the plan, alongside restoring fitness and rehabilitating forces after prolonged fighting, with an emphasis on munitions, stockpiles, infrastructure and returning equipment to operational readiness. Additional components include fortifying Israel's borders, identified as a central lesson of October 7, and preventing enemy entrenchment near the frontier.
The plan also prioritizes air defense and the low-altitude aerial combat, with responses to emerging and evolving threats, particularly drones and unmanned aerial vehicles. Further emphasis will be placed on the "third circle," such as Iran, and on strategic depth, reflecting the understanding that the IDF has already employed many of its capabilities during the Iran war, known in Israel as "Rising Lion," and must now develop new ones.
Other areas covered by the plan include ground maneuvering, command continuity under precise and statistically significant fire, intelligence gathering, robotics and autonomy. Special emphasis will be placed on outer space, with the IDF determining that an organizational change is required in this field and that preparations must be made for a different mode of operation in this theater.
Alongside the 12 main efforts, each led by a team headed by a major general, additional teams will focus on improving efficiency to better utilize resources, developing technological surprises for defense and offense, referred to by the code name "the next pager operation," and addressing organizational culture.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said the Hoshen multi-year plan "lays the tracks for the IDF to move forward, based on the lessons of October 7 and the war."
