Israel warned Hamas and the Palestinian population in Gaza that they would face a "heavy price" if Israeli armed forces suffered harm on the three-year anniversary of the October 7 attack. Israel's defence minister put the military on high alert ahead of the anniversary of Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack.
The office of Defence Minister Israel Katz issued the instruction to raise the military alert level due to intelligence suggesting Hamas intended to conduct attacks and terror operations against Israeli forces in Gaza on that day. The October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas resulted in 1,221 deaths in Israel, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Militants managed to drag 251 hostages into Gaza, with 44 of those individuals already deceased. Gaza's health ministry reports that Israel's military offensive has left most of Gaza in ruins and has killed over 74,200 people.
Furthermore, the health ministry stated that Israeli forces have killed more than 1,440 people in Gaza since a ceasefire was declared last October. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, declared that there would be "no Hamas rule in Gaza" and vowed to continue targeting anyone involved in the attack or who held hostages.
