Israel Puts Military on Alert Before October 7 Anniversary

Officials said on October 6 that Defence Minister Israel Katz had raised the military's readiness level as the third anniversary of the October 7, 2023 Hamas assault approached, cautioning that Gaza's residents would bear severe consequences if Israeli troops were harmed.¹²³

Alert and warnings

According to Katz's office, the order came in response to intelligence indicating Hamas plans to strike Israeli troops stationed in Gaza on the anniversary date.²³⁵¹

The Defence Minister's office said any harm to Israeli forces would bring severe consequences. Katz's office stated: "If, heaven forbid, our forces are harmed, the ones who will pay the heavy price will be Hamas and the population of Gaza – beyond all proportion."²¹

The Times of Israel reported that, in a separate warning, Israel's National Security Council flagged an increased danger of terrorism targeting Israelis and Jewish communities overseas around the anniversary. The outlet also noted that military units were instructed to prepare for the possibility that militants sympathetic to Hamas could target settlers and soldiers.⁴

Shin Bet Director David Zini told Israel's Security Cabinet that Hamas is planning to kidnap soldiers, according to the Media Line and the Jerusalem Post.⁷⁵

Political backdrop

On October 5, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Hamas would not be permitted to govern Gaza and pledged to continue pursuing those behind the attacks. He later said Hamas could attempt attacks around the election, stating: "We are prepared for this; first and foremost, we will thwart such attempts, and in any case, we will respond with overwhelming force if they make this mistake."³¹

The Straits Times described Netanyahu as facing a close race before the October 27 elections, while the Times of Israel reported that he believed Hamas might strike Israel in an effort to sway the outcome of the vote.¹⁴

Former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, now aligned with the Yashar party, criticized the government's handling of the October 7 failures in response to Katz's announcement, saying: "The defense minister's announcement this morning is an indictment against the government of October 7," and adding that "the government responsible for the failure has suffered a resounding failure in achieving the goals that it itself set."⁵

Toll since 2023

Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, described by multiple outlets as the deadliest in Israel's history, killed 1,221 people and saw militants drag 251 hostages into Gaza, 44 of whom are already dead, according to the dossier's sources.²³¹

The Straits Times, the Hindu and France 24 reported that Israel's resulting military campaign has caused more than 74,200 deaths in Gaza, with over 1,440 additional fatalities caused by Israeli troops in the territory in the time since a ceasefire took effect last October. Most of Gaza is described as being in ruins.²³¹

On September 29, the IDF killed Izz al-Din Bik, identified as a commander of Hamas's northern Gaza Strip brigade, around the same time Netanyahu and Katz issued a joint statement on military operations, according to Outlook India.⁶