FIDF LIVE BRIEFING: SFC. Kelly Odes, IDF Head of Strategy & Messaging - May 31, 2026

Lara Krinsky hosts this IDF Live briefing with Sgt. First Class Kelly Odes from the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, focusing on how the war is fought both on the battlefield and in the global information space. Kelly says the main current effort is the northern front, citing major IDF gains against Hezbollah’s command structure—including roughly 7,500 operatives eliminated since the start of the war (about 2,500 since Operation Roaring Lion began in March), plus hundreds more since the ceasefire understandings. She stresses that the threat is evolving, especially the surge in explosive drones, noting the recent death of a young female soldier, Rotem, and outlining a three-part response: better detection/interception, improved protective measures, and strikes on drone storage/production sites. On Gaza, she describes renewed activity and a string of high-level Hamas eliminations—including two successive heads of military operations—while warning Hamas is still trying to regroup and rearm despite international pressure to disarm. On Iran, she says the IDF remains on high readiness and is building contingency plans while awaiting political decisions as negotiations extend, and she argues Israel’s post–Oct. 7 doctrine is proactive: don’t wait for threats to grow. The briefing closes with a strong emphasis on morale—soldiers are fatigued but undeterred—and a call to support troops facing relentless combat and delegitimization through FIDF.