‘Anyone who poses a threat to our forces in Gaza will be hit,’ IDF says

A senior officer in the IDF Southern Command says troops will respond to any attempt at harming them amid the ceasefire, while the army spends its time preparing for the resumption of fighting.

“Anyone who poses a threat to our forces will be hit. The security of our forces is a top priority, that’s how we behaved and that’s how we will continue to behave,” the officer says.

He says the ground offensive “and the operational achievements put pressure on Hamas and its leadership, and served as a necessary tool to create conditions for the implementation of the plan to return some of the hostages.

“We will use most of the time for the sake of readiness and planning the tasks expected of us immediately after the end of the truce. We are preparing to continue attacking with all our strength immediately after the end of the truce,” he adds.

The IDF has vowed to prevent Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza from its south, and has already prevented some who tried.

Yesterday, the commander of the IDF Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, was in the northern Gaza Strip with troops to assess the deployment of forces on the ceasefire lines and approve operational plans.