Brig. Gen. (res.) Amir Avivi, founder of the Bithonistim movement, told Channel 7 at the Lev Conference on Science, Technology and Security at the Jerusalem College of Technology that the situation in Lebanon is not a failure, but part of a broader campaign to bring down the Iran-led Shiite axis. He said Israel has already achieved significant results in two rounds of operations with the United States against Iran, but the pace has slowed because Washington has shifted attention to the global economic situation and preventing a crisis there.
Avivi said that over the next two months he wants to see renewed pressure, economically and perhaps kinetically, and insisted, “We must not give up.” He described Hezbollah as “beaten and very weak,” said Israel is operating deep in southern Lebanon and destroying the group’s main infrastructure, and added that Iran is not rushing to fire ballistic missiles in Hezbollah’s aid “out of distress, not out of strength.”
Responding to criticism from fighters who say they are being tied down and left exposed, Avivi said that based on his contacts with Northern Command and political officials, there is a gap between such claims and reality. He argued that the IDF does not endanger its soldiers and that the real problem is the overall picture, including the fact that Israel is not attacking across all of Lebanon.
He said two key principles are being neglected, continuity and initiative, warning that pauses allow enemies in areas such as the Bekaa and Beirut to recover. In his view, Israel should keep up a sustained offensive, because advancing toward normalization and agreements with Lebanon is impossible without crushing Hezbollah. He also said the fall of the regime in Tehran is possible, but it depends on the Iranian public rising up, while Israel can still hit the regime’s military and economic infrastructure hard. Avivi said the IDF is preparing for the next stage and that the current slowdown is only temporary.
