Likud MK Amit Halevi, a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, sharply criticized the IDF’s rules of engagement in Lebanon, saying that they don’t reflect the government’s policies and unnecessarily endanger soldiers’ lives, Arutz Sheva reported.
Halevi began with what he described as “the most shocking” issue, saying that within the Yellow Line, IDF soldiers are required to clear areas on foot but are not permitted to conduct preparatory artillery fire before entering alleys and homes.
“The military directive is not to carry out preparatory artillery fire,” he said. “It’s immoral and unacceptable.”
Halevi pointed to an incident in which an IDF officer was wounded on the outskirts of Bint Jbeil after his commander requested artillery support before the forces advanced — but the request was denied.
Halevi also criticized the way emerging threats beyond the Yellow Line are handled, saying that requests to strike terrorist targets that require Air Force approval are often delayed for many minutes—long enough for the terrorists to leave the area. By contrast, he said, strikes authorized at the brigade level are carried out in time.
He described this policy as a return to pre–October 7 procedures.
“These procedures must be changed,” he said, adding that in one case two soldiers were killed a day after a terrorist cell had been identified in the same area because authorization to strike the cell came too late.
Halevi said that the information he presented came from officers serving across all the northern brigades.
“These facts are known to the IDF,” he emphasized. “There is nothing inaccurate or unknown here. The procedures must be changed. When there is a threat to our forces, there should be no delay and no ‘roof‑knocking’.”
Halevi also described an incident that led him to contact IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir directly.
“Ten terrorists were seen gathering inside a house in one of the villages, and instead of leveling the house, they returned to the ‘roof‑knocking’ procedure — even though it wasn’t a civilian building, and even though the house should have been destroyed with the terrorists inside. None of that was done.”
Halevi places responsibility for the current policy on Zamir.
“The Chief of Staff has one mission: victory. He must ensure that soldiers operate accordingly so that when a political window of opportunity arrives, the IDF can achieve a decisive victory. Right now, the procedures are deeply concerning. Based on the reports I receive from nearly every brigade in the north, I see a steady erosion in the use of firepower. We must return to wartime procedures.”
Halevi said that, in addition to contacting the Chief of Staff, he had appealed to the chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee to convene the committee despite the Knesset recess.
“It is the committee’s duty—especially at a time like this—to convene. We will meet to prepare for a session in which we will demand clear answers from the IDF,” he said.
(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
