Mako military correspondent Shai Levy says that the IDF is misleading the public when it issues dramatic statements about “strategic assets” and “terror infrastructure” conquered in Lebanon.

Speaking in an interview with Kikar H’Shabbat, Levy said, “I’m not dismissing these infrastructures. They are significant terror infrastructures, with rockets, UAVs, and enormous quantities of weapons. But let’s say the truth—there are terror infrastructures like these from the Israeli border all the way to Beirut, and probably beyond.”

Levy asserted that the repeated use of dramatic language creates a distorted picture for both the public and decision-makers since exaggerating tactical achievements creates the impression that the IDF is close to defeating Hezbollah. In actuality, Hezbollah’s real center of gravity—its heavy missiles, primary command centers, and training camps—is located in the Bekaa Valley and deep inside Lebanon, areas the IDF is not approaching.

“If the goal is truly to dismantle Hezbollah, the IDF would have to push through all of Lebanon and go house to house,” he said. ” That’s what it would take—and we’re not prepared to do that, and it isn’t going to happen.”

The momentum that began with the pager operation, the killing of Hassan Nasrallah, and the elimination of much of Hezbollah’s senior leadership has stalled, and Israel now finds itself being pulled once again into the same Lebanese quagmire. Levy made a troubling comparison between the ceasefire period following the previous war in the north and the current situation. In the past, the IDF operated almost freely in southern Lebanon and Beirut’s Dahiyeh district, eliminating hundreds of terrorists during the ceasefire period. Hezbollah did not dare fire a single bullet or launch even the smallest attack. The deterrence was complete.

Today, the reality is entirely different. US pressure has constrained Israeli military operations. Levy said that the IDF has made little advancement on the ground beyond the first and second lines of villages. Meanwhile, Hezbollah is killing soldiers, disrupting daily life, and continuing to launch drones and rockets toward northern yishuvim.

Levy’s conclusion is blunt: the military bears significant responsibility for this strategic decline by presenting misleading scenarios to both political leaders and the public.

The most disturbing part of Levy’s remarks concerns what he sees as a return to the same conceptual failures and lack of transparency that preceded the October 7 disaster. As someone who experienced the October 7 massacre both as a journalist and as a resident of the Gaza border region, Levy says he recognizes the same destructive patterns today. “Even now, the army is not telling residents the truth,” he stated.

He points to repeated incidents near Gaza in which terrorists have reached the Yellow Line, dangerously close to Israeli communities. Rather than raising an alarm, authorities often issue reassuring statements that minimize the seriousness of the situation.

Terms such as “routine gunfire” or “controlled explosions” are used to obscure reality. Emergency response teams are not always fully informed, ostensibly to avoid causing panic among residents.

According to Levy, this policy creates a false sense of security that can collapse in an instant when reality strikes. “If you keep telling me ‘everything is quiet, everything is quiet,’ and suddenly terrorists are inside my community, the basic contract has been broken.”

“I’m not trying to scare people. I’m saying: don’t fall asleep,” he concludes.

“You deserve to know what’s happening so you can understand what to do and what to demand. In many cases, phrases like ‘top secret’ or ‘state security’ are simply used to suppress criticism. After everything we’ve been through, nobody is going to brush us off anymore.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)