Amir Bohbot

Walla! Defense & Military Analyst. In 2011, Bohbot began working as a military analyst and reporter for the Walla! Website. In 2012, he covered the Pillar of Defense operation in-depth, as well as the Brother's Keeper Operation, to find the three kidnapped teenagers accompanying the special unit Maglan forces. In Operation Protective Edge, he joined the then-commander of the Nahal Brigade, Brigadier General Uri Gordin, and exposed the military activity of Hamas under the guise of sensitive facilities and sites of international aid organizations in Gaza. Bohbot began his journalistic career in the veteran local newspaper "Sheva." Between 1996 and 2011, he worked for the Maariv newspaper, filling several field positions, including a reporter for criminal affairs, politics, municipal systems, law, and investigations for the Weekend magazine. In 2003, he began serving as a reporter and analyst for military and security affairs in Maariv. Bohbot covered in-depth the investigations of Operation Defensive Shield, Days of Penitence operation, on which he published an independent investigation in two parts and Operation Rainbow. He also covered the disengagement from the Gaza Strip process, Operation Summer Rains, the Second Lebanon War, and Operation Cast Lead, during which he joined the fighting forces under the command of then-Paratroopers Brigade commander Major General Herzi Halevi. Bohbot holds a bachelor's degree in communications from Sapir College, a master's degree in communications from Ben-Gurion University, and a master's degree in political science from Bar-Ilan University in a thesis track he completed with honors. He holds a doctorate in the Department of Political Science at Bar-Ilan University on the study of the Israeli targeted killing policy between the years 2000 and 2012 and the decision-making processes of the senior military and political echelon in Israel and the United States. In 2017, Bohbot's debut book was published in English: "Weapon Wizards," which he co-wrote with the former Jerusalem Post's editor-in-chief, lawyer Yaakov Katz. The book dealt with the question of how Israel became a global arms power. The book was translated into Hebrew, Czech, Polish, and Chinese after its success.

Israeli forces raid Balata refugee camp east of Nablus in the West Bank, August 11, 2025.

IDF braces for potential West Bank escalation following Abbas's upcoming UN address

Israel Air Force chief Tomer Bar.

Battle of succession: Will Tomer Bar be replaced as head of air force?

Displaced Palestinians, fleeing northern Gaza due to an Israeli military operation, move southward after Israeli forces ordered residents of Gaza City to evacuate to the south, in the central Gaza Strip, September 17, 2025.

Hamas reaching 'breaking point' as Gaza City evacuation expands, security source says


Hamas deploys terror forces, resources to West Bank, Israeli security sources claim

Hamas ramps up operations in the West Bank, expanding terror infrastructure and planning attacks against Israelis, while IDF operations intensify.

Defense Minister Israel Katz with IDF soldiers in the West Bank; illustrative.

Armed Gaza clans turn on Hamas as IDF advances deeper into Gaza City

Local clans across Gaza are pushing back against Hamas control, forming understandings with the IDF and fighting in areas under pressure from Israel’s military offensive.

 Palestinians from clans hold guns and melee weapons to secure aid trucks in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, June 25, 2025.

IDF braces for Hamas kidnapping attempts in Gaza City offensive, officers say

The threat is very real, as Hamas has built tunnels along key routes and under many buildings and streets in the Strip. 

An Israeli soldier sits in a military vehicle as part of a convoy in a street in the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing ground operation of the Israeli army against Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, June 8, 2025.

Failure to procure advanced tech, weapons threatens IDF’s combat readiness - analysis

The IDF and Defense Ministry are working to mitigate the failure to secure advanced weapons and tech, that raised concerns about its readiness for future conflicts, reducing soldiers' effectiveness.

IDF soldiers operating in the Gaza Strip, August 1, 2025.

Despite lack of local protests, Gaza City evacuation threatens Hamas's tight grip

Why are there no protests in Gaza against Hamas, who is threatening it on the ground, and what will happen without the human shield?

Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli airstrike that destroyed a residential building earlier today, in Gaza City, September 6, 2025

Israel to move 100,000 tents to new humanitarian area ahead of Gaza City push

The defense establishment is preparing for the possible outbreak of epidemics by expanding medical services and distributing vaccines, especially polio vaccines.

Palestinians displaced by the Israeli military offensive take shelter in tents, in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, August 19, 2025.

Large-scale evacuation of Gazans from north Gaza, Gaza City to begin soon

Hamas distributed media messages to deter residents from moving south, in order to continue using them as human shields. 

Israeli tank kicks up dust as it manoeuvres near a pick-up truck on the border with Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side, September 3, 2025.

IDF ramps up massive logistics ops. ahead of Gaza City invasion

As Gaza City becomes the focal point of the conflict, the IDF ramps up logistics, training, and support systems ahead of a major ground offensive.

IDF soldiers sit on top of tanks at the Gaza border, August 26, 2025

APCs packed with explosives become key IDF weapon in Gaza war

The IDF’s Southern Command has tripled the use of armored personnel carriers (APCs) during ground maneuvers, but in a new and explosive way.

 An APC maneuvers on the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, as seen from Israel, June 7, 2025.

PTSD forces more than 1,100 IDF soldiers out of service, military data reveals

The IDF is addressing, yet struggling to contain a wave of combat trauma, with over 1,100 soldiers discharged for PTSD as the army expands mental health support.

Israeli soldiers with PTSD, demanding better rights and conditions, block a road outside the Knesset, Israel’s parliament in Jerusalem, August 18, 2025.