IDF spokesman says military will investigate troops being moved from Gaza border to West Bank before Oct 7

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says there was no change in the number of troops carrying out routine security on the Gaza border ahead of Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, following reports that two Commando Brigade companies were diverted to the West Bank two days before the attacks.

“The deployment of the forces that carry out regular operational activities [on the border of] the Gaza Strip did not change before October 7,” Hagari says in response to a question at a press conference.

“We will investigate in depth the decision on the reserve forces, which is a General Staff decision that is made regularly according to a situational assessment,” he says.

The term, “reserve forces,” in this case does not mean members of the reserve army, but rather troops that bolster various regions, based on assessments carried out by the IDF General Staff. The two Commando Brigade companies were part of the reserve forces, rather than those carrying out routine security.

“Every weekend, we position the reserve forces [in different areas], depending on the threats,” Hagari says. “We will investigate this when we have the operational possibility.”