IDF Rabbis Rule Most Soldiers Must Not Fast on Tisha B’Av

The Israel Defense Forces Military Rabbinate instructed soldiers not to fast during the Tisha B’Av day of mourning if they are engaged in “operational activities.”

According to the rabbinate, “Fasting during operational activity is prohibited; it is a life-threatening matter.”

Tisha B’Av, commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples, and other tragedies which occurred on the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av. Traditional customs of mourning apply during the day, most notably fasting from sundown to sundown and reading the Book of Lamentations. The holiday begins at sundown on Monday.

The rabbinate said its instructions applied to soldiers “including the Gaza Strip, the north of Israel, Judea and Samaria; soldiers who may be called up for operational activity; as well as soldiers on guard duty should eat and drink to be able to function optimally.”

The threat of wider war has escalated since the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Iran blames Israel, which has not confirmed or denied responsibility.

Hezbollah has vowed revenge for a separate Israeli airstrike in Beirut which killed Fuad Shukr. He was responsible for a deadly rocket attack on Majdal Shams, which killed 12 children in the Druze village. A member of Hezbollah’s Jihad Council, the terror group’s highest decision-making body on military affairs, Shukr was regarded as Hezbollah’s “Defense Minister” and right-hand man to Hezbollah chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah.

Nearly 80,000 Israelis were forced to evacuate their homes near the Lebanon border when Hezbollah began launching rockets and drones in October. Hezbollah leaders have said they will continue the attacks to prevent Israelis from returning to their homes. The attacks have killed 26 civilians and 18 soldiers.

Israeli officials have been calling for Hezbollah to be disarmed and removed from southern Lebanon in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War.

At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 111 remaining hostages, 39 have been declared dead. Hamas has also been holding captive two Israeli civilians since 2014 and 2015, and the bodies of two soldiers killed in 2014.