As the curtain closed on 2025, the Israeli military published its annual operational summary, offering a portrait of a year described within the defense establishment as one of the most intense and complex on record, amid what Israel calls a “multi-front campaign.” From Gaza and Lebanon to Syria and the West Bank, and extending to Iran and Yemen, the military said it operated across a vast geographic arena and highlighted by numbers its operational superiority.
According to the statement, the military carried out about 20,900 airstrikes over the year and conducted roughly 430 operations on multiple fronts, as part of what it described as a sustained effort to protect Israel’s security and its citizens. The statement presents the tally as the outcome of a yearlong conjoined military and intelligence activity that was not confined to a single arena but spread simultaneously across near and distant theaters.
In the Gaza Strip, the military said it struck about 19,530 targets as part of a broad campaign aimed at degrading Hamas’s military capabilities, according to its account. It cited the destruction of infrastructure, command centers and weapons depots, as well as the killing of field commanders at various levels. The statement also notes the targeted killing of prominent figures, foremost among them Mohammed Sinwar, whom it describes as one of the movement’s most influential military decision-makers.
In Lebanon, the military announced that it attacked about 950 military targets, including launch platforms, weapons depots, military buildings and tunnel shafts, in the context of an ongoing confrontation with Hezbollah that it said came in response to repeated violations of the cease-fire agreement. Among the names highlighted in the statement is Haitham al-Tabatabaei, who served as Hezbollah’s chief of staff and was killed after what the military described as a prolonged period of intelligence tracking.
On the Iranian front, the military described the 12-day war — or what it calls Operation “Ascending Lion” — as a pivotal episode. It said the campaign included strikes on about 1,500 targets and focused on senior military leaders as well as nuclear scientists. Prominent in this context is the name Ali Shadmani, commander of the Iranian armed forces’ emergency headquarters, who was killed in a strike described as hitting the heart of the command structure in Tehran.
In Yemen, the military said it carried out about 20 focused strikes hitting roughly 230 targets, resulting — according to the statement — in the killing of senior Houthi figures. These long-range operations were described as among the most complex in terms of planning and logistics. The data point to the targeted killing of prominent military and political leaders in the group, including Ahmed al-Rahawi, head of the Houthi government, who was killed in a strike that hit a meeting of senior leaders in Sanaa, as well as Mohammed al-Ghamari, chief of staff of Houthi forces, regarded as one of the group’s leading architects of military operations.
The military was careful to highlight a segment called “removing figures from the equation,” in which it presented a series of assassinations as the culmination of “long, intricate and meticulous intelligence work.” According to the military’s account, each operation begins with the collection of precise information from multiple sources, the analysis of behavioral patterns and the construction of “target files,” before moving to execution and damage assessment, in an operational cycle that the military says is designed to thwart threats before they fully materialize.
In reviewing the numerical data and following an examination by the Alhurra website of the detailed figures cited in the military’s statement, it was found out that the total number of targets mentioned across the various fronts amounts to about 22,210 — roughly 1,310 more than the overall figure of 20,900 targets cited at the beginning of the statement. Alhurra contacted the military’s spokesman to request clarification regarding this discrepancy and the methodology used in the count, but as of the time of publication, no official comment had been issued.
In this context as well, the military’s year-end statement did not address the strike attributed to Israel that targeted the Qatari capital, Doha, in September 2025 — an attack that took place outside the traditional theaters of operation and one that carried wide political and security repercussions. According to information released at the time, the strike was carried out during a meeting of Hamas leaders, while consultations were underway on proposals for a cease-fire and a hostage exchange. The attack resulted in fatalities, including a Qatari citizen and members of the security entourage of Hamas leaders, while the intended Hamas targets survived. The operation, described as the first of its kind inside an Arab Gulf state, was met with broad international condemnation and U.S. displeasure over its timing and its impact on Qatari mediation efforts. Despite the weight of the operation and its political and security consequences, its details were entirely absent from the military’s year-end statement, with no explanation offered for the omission or reference to its outcomes.
Suicide Cases in the Military at Their Highest Since 2010
Away from the battlefields, data released by the military on losses within its ranks reveal a more sensitive domestic dimension. According to a review conducted by Alhurra of official data, the number of suicide cases recorded among soldiers in 2025 was the highest since 2010. The figures indicate that 22 cases were or remain under investigation on suspicion of suicide, and most involved conscripted and reserve soldiers. The military says it continues to examine the circumstances surrounding each case individually.
According to the same data, the total number of fatalities among military personnel in 2025 rose to 152 soldiers. The military also clarified that some deaths were not counted in this tally, including the death of a soldier during military training and others resulting from illness. The military said it did so in order to explain the classifications used and to distinguish between different causes of death.
In sum, the Israeli military’s data for 2025 depict an extraordinary year in terms of the breadth of operations, the multiplicity of fronts and the intensity of military and intelligence activities inside and beyond the region. While the defense establishment seeks to present this record as evidence of operational superiority and the ability to operate simultaneously across distant arenas, the granular details — and the human cost borne within the military itself — point to a more complex reality; one that combines military initiative with the pressures of attrition and political and humanitarian repercussions, in a region that remains open to escalation and once again raises questions about the limits, utility and long-term cost of force.
