IDF Studies Special Forces Role in Southern Lebanon Amid Strain and Burnout

Amid the ceasefire with Hezbollah, the IDF is preparing to reduce forces and deploy special units in southern Lebanon. The move comes as the army confronts mounting manpower strain and fatigue across regular and reserve troops, especially in Lebanon.

Over the past week, IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir held two meetings on personnel needs in southern Lebanon and across other fronts. He instructed brigade combat teams to allow soldiers to take leave, speed up their return to training, and restore higher readiness levels that have been eroded by the war.

Senior ground commanders have recently warned about worsening exhaustion in both regular and reserve formations. One source familiar with the matter said, "Battalion and brigade commanders are busy following orders and asking for more missions, the main thing is not to be static, but we understand they have to slow down." The same source added, "The burden and the exhaustion are unbelievable, especially in Lebanon. We need to use the ceasefire to let them rest in one way or another, so we can rotate forces faster and for longer periods, you cannot do this without taking risks."