With Storm Byron lashing Israel and threatening days of flooding, the IDF on Wednesday imposed sweeping safety restrictions across the entire military, effectively freezing nonessential movement and training until conditions stabilize.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir issued the directives as the powerful Mediterranean storm, which already battered Greece and Cyprus, moved inland overnight with torrential rain and gale-force winds. The military is bracing for a volatile 48-hour window as flood risks surge across central and northern Israel.

Under the new orders, soldiers will be barred from leaving their bases from Wednesday evening through at least Friday at 6 a.m., canceling the customary weekend furlough for tens of thousands of troops. Commanders were instructed that exceptions will be minimal.

The restrictions go well beyond travel limits. All outdoor training is suspended — whether on foot or in vehicles — unless a major general grants a rare exception. Navigation, camouflage drills, and other field exercises deemed high-risk in wet conditions are explicitly prohibited.

Troops are also barred from sleeping outdoors unless required for operational needs, and even then only with approval from a regional division commander. Routine security missions are being pared back to “essential activities” only. Both operational and logistical travel will be heavily curtailed, with vehicle movements requiring colonel-level authorization and logistics runs needing approval from corps commanders.

“Essential travel only” is the operative phrase of the day, underscoring the IDF’s concern that flash flooding, washed-out roads and collapsing terrain could compromise both soldier safety and operational readiness.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)