Retired Col. Hazi Nechama, a former commander of the Alexandroni Brigade, said the current lull in southern Lebanon is dangerous and unsustainable. In an interview aired by Channel 14 and conducted by Itay Tauber, he warned that the IDF is stuck in a harmful middle ground, neither conducting a full offensive nor properly defending its positions, and that soldiers are already paying the price.
Nechama said that a professional army must operate in one of two clear modes, either a strong offensive push or a fortified defensive posture. The current hybrid situation, he argued, is "catastrophic" and creates avoidable tactical losses on the ground. He placed responsibility on Israel's political leadership, saying it is preventing the military from reaching a decisive outcome.
He dismissed targeted killings and limited strikes in Beirut as a path to ending the threat from the north. Instead, he called for "full conquest of territory, expulsion of the entire Shiite population from southern Lebanon, and a full siege," saying only that kind of pressure would defeat Hezbollah. He also said the same logic should apply in Gaza, where he wants a final defeat of Hamas through population evacuation and complete control of the area.
Nechama argued that Israel has abandoned David Ben-Gurion's doctrine of rapid decision and is stretching wars out for months and years, harming the economy, Israel's international standing, and the resilience of reserve soldiers' families. "The State of Israel cannot afford to conduct a campaign for nearly three years," he said, adding that unless Israel changes course, it will face endless future rounds of fighting with Hezbollah.
