Security Cabinet
The Security Cabinet is Israel's senior ministerial body responsible for defining foreign and defense policy, authorizing military operations, and managing national security crises. Led by the Prime Minister, it serves as the supreme decision-making forum for the state's most sensitive strategic and kinetic responses.
The Security Cabinet (officially the Ministerial Committee on National Security Affairs) is a statutory body mandated by the Basic Law: The Government. It is designed to streamline executive decision-making on matters of war, peace, and strategic defense that are too sensitive or urgent for the full government plenum. Its membership typically includes the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and other key ministers, often supplemented by the heads of the IDF, Mossad, and Shin Bet as professional observers.
In June 2026, the Security Cabinet has become the central nervous system of Israel's national response to direct kinetic warfare with the Iranian regime. Following a massive ballistic missile barrage on June 7-8, 2026, which targeted nearly 500 locations across Israel, the cabinet has been frequently convened to authorize retaliatory strikes on Iranian military infrastructure. These sessions are critical for balancing operational necessity with diplomatic coordination, particularly with the United States under the Trump administration.
The cabinet's role extends beyond immediate tactical approvals; it is the forum where Israel's long-term deterrent posture is debated. Recent statements from cabinet members, such as Minister Miki Zohar, emphasize a strategy of 'force and power' to restore regional stability. As the conflict transitions from proxy-based friction to direct state-on-state engagement, the Security Cabinet remains the primary authority for determining the scope of IDF operations and the threshold for national escalation.