Maj.-Gen. (ret) Itzhak Brik wrote in his latest column for Maariv that "the initiative being rolled out in the security establishment to launch an attack on Hezbollah is collective suicide." Recently, on Radio North 104.5FM, Brik expanded on his statement.
Regarding the "suicide" mission against Hezbollah, Brik said, "If we pay attention to what Hezbollah is doing to the Galilee in recent months – we find settlements crumbling, empty of people, on thousands of burned acres of land. Scenes that can be seen in Gaza are seen today in the North. The Iron Dome has been failing to stop the UAVs, rockets, and missiles for months. We did not prepare ourselves for dozens of missiles every day and not for the thousands that we will have in the next war."
Brik then shared that Ukraine invited the Israeli army to learn from them how to deal with UAVs. The IDF, according to Brik, was not interested.
Brik added: "When we don't have an army in one arena, how are we going to deal with six? How are we going to deal with thousands of missiles? The army must take a break from fighting in order to organize – which we haven't done for 20 years. We need to prepare the army for this war."
"Now, we need to take a time-out in the war in Gaza, which has lost its purpose. We are sacrificing too many men while they are gaining strength underground and recovering. They have brought back all their fighters. We are destroying the cities above and the world is seeing destruction, but it is working against us.
"In their tunnels," Brik continued, "they have the situation completely under control. We need to stop the fighting there for a year or two and return the hostages. I believe that if we stop there, then Hezbollah will also stop, and then we can prepare with four more divisions."
Residents of the North afraid to return home
"They are very right... I could have said that we should wait patiently until the IDF is strong enough and we can deliver the necessary blow. Today, not only will the IDF not give the required blow, but it will also collapse. They need to understand that if we start fighting in Lebanon today, we will bring about a regional war. This means that either way, residents of the North will not be able to return to their homes."
In conclusion, Brik said, "Those who are running the war today have lost their brakes. They run red lights and get into fatal accidents – instead of starting to build the army. They are now investing $18 billion in planes that will arrive in five years and will not be relevant."