Editing Israel Defense Forces (section)

=== IDF Code of Ethics ===
{{Main|IDF Code of Ethics}}
In 1992, the IDF drafted a Code of Conduct that combines international law, Israeli law, Jewish heritage and the IDF's traditional ethical code—the [[IDF Spirit]] ({{langx|he|רוח צה"ל}}, ''Ru'ah Tzahal'').<ref name="idf-spirit">{{cite web|url=http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/about/doctrine/ethics.htm |title=Ethics – The IDF Spirit |publisher=[[IDF Spokesperson's Unit]] |access-date=10 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090831080829/http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/about/doctrine/ethics.htm |archive-date=31 August 2009 }}</ref>

The document defines four core values for all IDF soldiers to follow, including "defense of the state, its citizens and its residents", "love of the homeland and loyalty to the country", "human dignity" and "stateliness, as well as ten secondary values.<ref name="idf-spirit" /><ref>{{cite news |last1=Ahronheim |first1=Anna |title=IDF adds 'stateliness' as fourth military value in code of ethics |url=https://www.jpost.com/israeli-news/article-711884 |access-date=6 November 2022 |work=The Jerusalem Post |date=12 July 2022 |archive-date=5 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221105191903/https://www.jpost.com/israeli-news/article-711884 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=ערך היסוד ממלכתיות יתווסף ל'רוח צה"ל' |url=https://www.idf.il/%D7%9B%D7%AA%D7%91%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%95%D7%A2%D7%93%D7%9B%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%9D/2022/%D7%99%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%99/%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%97-%D7%A6%D7%94-%D7%9C-%D7%A6%D7%94%D7%9C-%D7%9E%D7%9E%D7%9C%D7%9B%D7%AA%D7%99%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%99%D7%99%D7%A2%D7%95%D7%93-%D7%A2%D7%A8%D7%9A-%D7%99%D7%A1%D7%95%D7%93-%D7%A8%D7%9E%D7%98%D7%9B-%D7%9C/ |website=Israel Defense Forces |access-date=6 November 2022 |language=Hebrew |date=12 July 2022 |archive-date=9 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221009062550/https://www.idf.il/%D7%9B%D7%AA%D7%91%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%95%D7%A2%D7%93%D7%9B%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%9D/2022/%D7%99%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%99/%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%97-%D7%A6%D7%94-%D7%9C-%D7%A6%D7%94%D7%9C-%D7%9E%D7%9E%D7%9C%D7%9B%D7%AA%D7%99%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%99%D7%99%D7%A2%D7%95%D7%93-%D7%A2%D7%A8%D7%9A-%D7%99%D7%A1%D7%95%D7%93-%D7%A8%D7%9E%D7%98%D7%9B-%D7%9C// |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Meir Elran |author2=Asa Kasher |title=Stateliness, IDF style |url=https://www.inss.org.il/publication/stateliness/ |publisher=The Institure for National Security Studies |access-date=6 November 2022 |date=2 August 2022 |archive-date=6 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221106141206/https://www.inss.org.il/publication/stateliness/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

"The Spirit of the IDF" (cf. supra) is still considered the only binding moral code that formally applies to the IDF troops. In 2009, [[Amos Yadlin]] (then head of [[Military Intelligence]]) suggested that the article he co-authored with [[Asa Kasher]] be ratified as a formal binding code, arguing that "the current code ['The Spirit of the IDF'] does not sufficiently address one of the army's most pressing challenges: [[asymmetric warfare]] against terrorist organizations that operate amid a civilian population".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/1.5394864|title=MI: IDF Needs New Ethics Code for War on Terror|date=30 September 2009|newspaper=Haaretz|access-date=28 June 2019|archive-date=16 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516165000/https://www.haaretz.com/1.5394864|url-status=live}}</ref>

Details of the IDF's [[rules of engagement]] remain classified.<ref name="nyt-rabin-24">{{cite news |last1=Rabin |first1=Roni Caryn |title=Israelis Question Army's Rules of Engagement After Hostages Slain |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/04/world/middleeast/israel-hamas-rules-of-engagement-hostages.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=January 4, 2024 |quote=The details of the rules of engagement — the conditions under which soldiers are permitted to open fire — are classified because publicizing them would enable enemy forces to take advantage of them, said Mr.{{nbsp}}Dinar, adding that they were consistent with international law.}}</ref>