The Deputy chief of Staff is an officer with the rank of Major General (Aluf).

The current Deputy Chief of Staff is Major General (Aluf) Amir Baram.

Until 1999, Deputy Chiefs of Staff served as the Commanders of the General Staff Directorate simultaneously, With the exception of Haim Bar-Lev who held office on the eve of and during the Six Day War and Israel Tal who held office after the Yom Kippur War.

In 1999, the Operations Directorate was established and the positions were officially separated, Since then, it is common to see the Deputy Chief of Staff as the person in charge of the IDF force building, Procurement, development, equipping and maintenance of weapons, Planning, recruitment and training of personnel and maintaining their fitness and more.

Since 2005 The Control and Surveillance Department in the IDF is subordinate to the Deputy Chief of Staff.