IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has instructed the military to raise its level of alert to the highest possible amid the Sukkot holiday, the army announced.
The week-long festival began on Monday evening and its first full day coincides with the second anniversary of the invasion and massacre on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists slaughtered 1,200 people in southern Israel and abducted 251. Forty-eight hostages are still held in Gaza.
The move comes following an assessment Zamir held Monday with the Israel Defense Forces’ top brass, the military said.
The October 7 massacre occurred on Simchat Torah, a festive day immediately following Sukkot in the Hebrew calendar, and caught the IDF by surprise. Israel’s political and military leadership had disregarded evidence and intelligence that Hamas was preparing to invade, instead assessing that the terror group governing Gaza was interested in maintaining calm. Troop deployments were particularly low given that October 7, 2023, was both a sabbath and a Jewish festival.
Zamir also instructed that “the defensive effort will be the main effort until the end of the holiday period.”
“We are at constant readiness, prepared across all arenas for defense and offense. We continue our mission to enable all Israeli’s to mark the Sukkot holiday in peace and security,” he said in remarks published by the army.
The IDF has already been on high alert amid the war, especially since pausing offensive military activity in the Gaza Strip on Saturday at the request of US President Donald Trump as indirect negotiations are held to end the fighting and free the remaining hostages. Jewish holidays are normally seen by the army as sensitive periods with an increased chance of attacks.
Earlier Monday, the IDF reported skirmishes in Gaza despite the halt to offensive operations, adding that it carried out a number of airstrikes in response to Hamas attacks on Sunday.
The army said one strike was carried out by Israeli Air Force fighter jets on a cell of fighters armed with mortars and explosive devices, killing them. According to the IDF, “the group had planned to carry out terror attacks against troops operating in Gaza City.”
Another strike targeted a cell which was launching mortars at soldiers in Gaza City, one of which lightly wounded a soldier. The army said the soldier was taken to a hospital for treatment and his family was notified. Fighter jets struck and killed the operatives who had been launching the mortars, the IDF said.
In a third incident, the military said Hamas operatives fired rocket propelled grenades at engineering vehicles being used in Gaza City by the 98th Division, without any injuries being caused. Fighter jets hit the building from which the projectiles were fired, according to the army.
The IDF also announced that troops operating in Gaza City about a week ago found long-range rockets primed for an attack on central Israel.
The rockets were located by troops of the 401st Armored Brigade. The IDF said launchers primed to fire the rockets were safely neutralized.
Additionally, the troops located a cache of weapons and military equipment in the area, the IDF added.