Senior military commanders from around the globe have converged on Israel this week for a landmark seminar examining the country’s recent experience at war. Hosted by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Ground Forces, the event brings together top brass and officers from more than 20 nations—including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, India, and Japan—to learn lessons from Israel’s intensive, multi‑front campaign of the past two years.

A global classroom for modern combat

According to an IDF statement released Sunday, delegations from countries such as Canada, Finland, Greece, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Austria, Estonia, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia are participating in the week‑long program. “The purpose of the gathering is to strengthen cooperation, enhance familiarity with diverse operational approaches, exchange professional knowledge and experience between the participating militaries,” the statement said.

In remarks to Israel’s public broadcaster Kan (Israel), the IDF added that the seminar includes classroom lectures, battlefield tours in the Gaza Envelope, and direct meetings with soldiers and civilians who defended Israel during the ferocious attack that began on October 7, 2023.

Four fronts, one strategic challenge

The seminar’s timing underscores the scale of Israel’s security challenge. From October 2023 onward, Israel has confronted major hostile operations on at least four fronts: the Hamas‑led invasion of its Negev region, intense fighting with Hezbollah in Lebanon, skirmishes involving the Houthis in Yemen, and the looming threat from Iran’s growing influence in the region.

In Lebanon, Israel says it crippled significant portions of Hezbollah’s command infrastructure, culminating in a truce with Beirut’s government on November 27, 2024. In Gaza, a US‑brokered cease‑fire with Hamas took effect October 10, 2024—even as flare‑ups continue.

For participating militaries, the Israeli case offers valuable insight into rapid mobilization, integration of reserves and regulars, tunnel warfare, urban combat, multi‑domain operations, and the management of overlapping threats in today’s battlespace.

What visiting officers hope to learn

Senior officers attending told reporters they were particularly interested in three focus areas:

• Tunnel and subterranean warfare, given Hamas’s network of underground routes and Israel’s experience countering them.

• Reserve force mobilisation and integration, since Israel’s defense model relies heavily on rapid call‑ups of reservists alongside full‑time soldiers.

• Civil‑military coordination in contested territory, especially in border communities subjected to sustained attacks and needing protection while hosting military logistics.

Strategic implications beyond Israel

More than a training event, the seminar signals Israel’s deepening role as a hub of military learning and innovation for friendly nations. The IDF characterized the event as part of its ongoing effort to “initiate and promote international cooperation with leading militaries worldwide … as part of its ongoing effort to strengthen relationships, enhance collaboration, and foster shared learning in the face of evolving security challenges.”

This reinforces Israel’s stature outside the region: as warfare becomes more distributed, digitised and domain‑intense, the experience of fighting simultaneously in multiple theatres—and managing the international dimensions of conflict—offers lessons to many partners.

The road ahead

As the seminar unfolds, key questions will persist beyond doctrine and tactics. Can Israel’s lessons be adapted by allies faced with different geographies, resources and political constraints? Will this gathering translate into deeper joint operational frameworks, perhaps even formalised alliances or co‑training arrangements? How will Israel use its wartime experience to shape future defense cooperation?

For now, visiting officers are absorbing the substance: what worked, what failed, and what remains unfinished. Israel may have paused full‑scale state war against Hamas and Hezbollah. But its military lessons—refined under fire—are already being exported. In the age of sprawling multi‑front conflict, that may be Israel’s newest contribution to global defense.

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