IDF preparing for possible long-range rocket attacks from Gaza on Oct. 7 anniversary

Army assesses projectiles could be fired at central Israel as nation marks 1 year since Hamas attack; IDF bolsters defenses on Gaza border, deploys troops to surrounding towns

Rockets are launched by Palestinian terrorists from the Gaza Strip toward Israel, in Gaza, October 7, 2023. (AP Photo/ Hatem Moussa)
Rockets are launched by Palestinian terrorists from the Gaza Strip toward Israel, in Gaza, October 7, 2023. (AP Photo/ Hatem Moussa)

The IDF said Sunday it has bolstered forces on the Gaza border as it anticipates possible long-range rocket fire or other attacks from the Strip on the anniversary of the October 7 massacre.

Monday marks one year since the October 7, 2023, terror onslaught, in which Hamas-led terrorists murdered some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages to Gaza.

Military sources said that while Hamas has been largely dismantled as a military organization, its operatives can still carry out rocket attacks.

The IDF anticipates Hamas attacks on the first anniversary of the onslaught and assessed that such attacks from Gaza could include rocket fire, possibly even at central Israel.

The military said it was therefore bolstering defenses both along the Gaza border and in the Netzarim Corridor area in the Strip’s center, where the IDF maintains a presence.

“The Southern Command is prepared in defense and attack for several scenarios during the coming month, along with allowing memorial events in the [Gaza border communities] to be carried out safely,” the IDF said in a statement.

Israeli military vehicles and tanks near the Gaza border, as they prepare to enter for a military operation, October 6, 2024 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The military said several companies were being deployed to defend the Israeli border towns, and that it would coordinate with police and medical services in the event of attacks.

“We are on heightened alert for the coming days. At a high level of readiness… with offensive actions,” the chief of the Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, told officers in a video distributed by the IDF.

On Saturday night, IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari warned at a televised briefing that Israeli civilians could be targeted.

“We are prepared with increased forces in anticipation for this day,” when there could be “attacks on the home front,” he said.

Organizers of an unofficial commemoration marking a year since Hamas’s October 7 massacre said Saturday it will be held with a limited crowd made up of families of the victims, due to IDF Home Front Command restrictions that prevent large gatherings.

The commemoration, which was organized by the families of those killed and kidnapped, is set to be held at Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park at 7 p.m. on Monday.

Currently, the IDF Home Front Command limits gatherings to up to 2,000 people in Tel Aviv due to the ongoing threat of rocket attacks from Hezbollah in Lebanon as well as from Hamas.

Israelis visit the site of the Nova festival massacre, in southern Israel, October 6, 2024 (Yaniv Nadav/Flash90)

The ceremony will be broadcast on Israeli television stations and dozens of foreign broadcast networks. Dozens of cities in Israel and around the world will also host screenings of the event.

In addition to those murdered on October 7, hundreds more Israelis have been killed in the war sparked by the massacre, taking the toll to over 1,600.

It is believed that 97 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 33 confirmed dead by the IDF. Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.

Agencies contributed to this report.

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