Operations Directorate

The Operations Directorate is the operations branch of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Known in Hebrew as אגף המבצעים (Agaf HaMivtza'im) and commonly abbreviated אג"ם (Agam), it functions as a central coordinating and planning body for the IDF rather than as a conventional commercial brand or independent military service. Its remit covers the preparation of the armed forces for war, national emergencies, and routine security activity, and it helps translate national security priorities and military doctrine into operational strategy. The directorate was established in 1999 as part of an organizational restructuring that placed it alongside the IDF's regional commands, air force, navy, and other principal General Staff bodies. Its creation formalized a distinct headquarters-level function for integrating operational planning and the use of force across the armed forces. The directorate works with the political echelon by preparing military recommendations and with the other Israeli security organizations by coordinating activity and operational interfaces. Its responsibilities extend across the IDF's major operational components. It provides guidance to the regional commands, the Israeli Air Force, the Israeli Navy, the Ground Forces Command, and other directorates concerning the employment and coordination of force. It also contributes to doctrine, training, evaluation, campaign design, communications, special means, inspections, supervision, and General Staff security through subordinate divisions and departments. The organization is headed by a senior IDF officer at the rank of aluf. The reference material identifies Aluf Oded Basyuk as its head from June 2021. Because the directorate is an active military headquarters organization, its structure, responsibilities, and leadership may change through subsequent IDF appointments or reforms. It has no publicly identified commercial product portfolio, stock listing, or independent corporate ownership; its institutional parent and controlling authority are the Israel Defense Forces and, ultimately, the Israeli state.

The Operations Directorate is a General Staff branch of the Israel Defense Forces responsible for converting strategic direction into coordinated military action. Its Hebrew name, Agaf HaMivtza'im, is commonly shortened to Agam. The directorate belongs to the IDF's central headquarters structure and should be distinguished from the regional commands and from the individual service branches, such as the air force and navy. The directorate was established in 1999. Its formation took place alongside a broader organizational arrangement involving the IDF's regional commands, air force, navy, and other major headquarters bodies. The institutional change gave operational planning and force coordination a dedicated General Staff home. Rather than operating as an independent field formation, the directorate provides headquarters-level direction, integration, and recommendations across the IDF. Its core task is to prepare the IDF for the full range of expected security conditions, including major war, emergencies, and routine or day-to-day security operations. It derives operational strategy from the national security agenda and military doctrine, helping determine how broad strategic priorities should be reflected in military planning and readiness. The directorate also coordinates the IDF's work with other security forces and prepares recommendations for Israel's political decision-makers. A further responsibility is to instruct the IDF's operational commands and supporting headquarters on the exercise and coordination of force. This includes the regional commands, the air force, the navy, the Ground Forces Command, and other General Staff directorates. In this role, the Operations Directorate serves as an integrating mechanism intended to reduce duplication, align planning, and maintain a common operational framework across different parts of the military. The directorate's listed subordinate elements reflect this broad remit. The Operations Division handles central operational functions. The Instruction, Doctrine and Evaluation Division addresses professional guidance, doctrine, and assessment. The IDF Spokesperson provides military communications, while the Special Means Division and Department for Campaign Design support specialized operational planning. The Centre for Consciousness Operations represents the information and cognitive dimension of military activity. The Inspection and Supervision Department and General Staff Security Department provide oversight and security functions. The history of the post predates the directorate's formal 1999 establishment. Lists associated with the office include officers who served as heads of operations before the function was separated from the IDF General Staff's earlier structure. The historical record also identifies Yigael Yadin, who held a comparable operational command role in the pre-state Haganah and during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Dan Halutz, who had originally served as an aide to the chief of the Operations Branch, became head of the Operations Directorate soon after its creation. The reference material identifies Aluf Oded Basyuk as head of the directorate from June 2021. As with other senior IDF headquarters bodies, the directorate's leadership and internal organization are subject to military appointments and institutional changes. Public descriptions emphasize its operational and coordinating function rather than a consumer-facing identity, and there is no indication that it operates as a separate commercial entity or maintains independently reported financial results.

• 2021

  Oded Basyuk identified as directorate head

  [1]Operations Directorateen.wikipedia.org

  Aluf Oded Basyuk became head of the Operations Directorate in June 2021, according to the referenced account.

• 1999

  Operations Directorate established

  [1]Operations Directorateen.wikipedia.org

  The IDF established the Operations Directorate as a General Staff operations branch during an organizational restructuring that also involved the regional commands, air force, navy, and other major military bodies.

A senior military headquarters and operational coordination directorate within the Israel Defense Forces General Staff.

1. 1Operations Directorateen.wikipedia.org