JERUSALEM (VINnews) — A dramatic tightening of the IDF’s strike policy in Lebanon has taken place in the last few days. The military was already restricted at the beginning of last week and reduced its strikes in southern Lebanon to almost zero, according to a Galei Tzahal report on Sunday morning.

In the days leading up to the deaths of five Israeli soldiers over the weekend, and even before the signing of the memorandum of understanding between Iran and the United States, the IDF received orders to maintain an almost complete ceasefire in southern Lebanon.

The directive was issued to Northern Command several days ago and represented a significant escalation in restrictions on the use of force. As a result, many strikes that had previously required approval only from a division commander or the head of Northern Command now require authorization from the Chief of Staff, and in some cases from the political leadership as well.

The tightened restrictions primarily affected operations in southern Lebanon. In Beirut’s Dahiyeh district and in the Bekaa Valley, Israel had already largely refrained from striking in recent months because of American limitations. Therefore, even in southern Lebanon, where political and military leaders had maintained that Israel enjoyed full freedom of action, Israeli operational freedom was dramatically reduced.

The policy change came after President Trump announced that an agreement with Iran was about to be signed. Even before the memorandum was finalized, and reportedly in accordance with an American request, Israel began sharply limiting its strikes, including those conducted near Israeli forces operating in southern Lebanon.

Officers interviewed on the matter criticized the restrictions, saying that the IDF’s ability to carry out strikes in southern Lebanon has been severely constrained in recent days, including in areas adjacent to ground forces. According to them, this hampers efforts to target Hezbollah terrorists in those areas and to protect Israeli troops.

As of now, the IDF Spokesperson has declined to comment on the report.