Following the ceasefire in Lebanon and a revised security assessment, the IDF said on Monday it will begin releasing Home Front “alert squads” in northern communities. The notice was sent in an official document by Brig. Gen. Alon Friedman, commander of the Northern Command’s Home Front Center, to members of the squads in border communities.
According to the army, defense platoons and their commanders will be dismissed as the defense posture shifts to “green,” the IDF’s designation for full routine. Reserve members of the alert squads are scheduled to begin demobilization on Thursday, and all forces serving in the alert squads and defense platoons in the area are to be released on Sunday.
The order states that, “subject to the assessment of the situation and the change in defense policy,” the mission of the defense platoons will end Sunday, and says the decision was made “in light of the implementation of the ceasefire in the Lebanon sector.” The move came alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement that Israeli forces in southern Lebanon will retain full freedom of action against any immediate or emerging threat.
The decision drew criticism from war reporter and Gaza-envelope resident Almog Boker, who wrote that it was “simply a disgrace” that the United States announced a ceasefire and Israel immediately dismantled the alert squads in border communities. He asked whether the army could not wait a few weeks to see how the situation develops, and quoted the chief of staff as saying only a day earlier that leaving the “yellow line” would bring the infiltration threat back. Boker concluded, “The residents deserve a little more than this.”
