From the Liveblog of
Sunday, February 16, 2025
Katz slams repair activity in Gaza buffer zone despite it being coordinated with IDF
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Palestinians were allowed by the IDF to enter an Israeli-controlled buffer zone in the northern Gaza Strip earlier today to carry out repairs on civilian infrastructure.
Defense Minister Israel Katz, however, was apparently unaware of the coordinated activity, and rushed to say in a statement that “the directive to the IDF is clear and unequivocal: Anyone who infiltrates into the buffer zone in Gaza, risks their life, and that is how the IDF should act.”
“Our duty is to protect the lives of IDF soldiers and residents and communities in the south in the face of any threat and danger, and we will not compromise on security,” Katz adds.
Katz’s statement came after footage circulating on social media showed excavators and backhoe loaders operated by Gazans in the IDF’s buffer zone in the Strip’s north, just a few hundred meters from the Israeli border fence.
Military sources say that the engineering activity in the buffer zone, by a private Palestinian company, was being supervised by the IDF and troops had escorted the Gazans to the area.
All of the Gazans who entered the buffer zone to repair the civilian infrastructure underwent a security screening, according to the sources.
חיילים ששומרים על הפרימטר בעזה טוענים כי צוותי תשתיות של חמאס (מחבלים!) עובדים בשעה זו בתוך מרחב האבטחה (כדי לחבר אינטרנט) כשצה"ל לטענתם מאבטח אותם.
בצהל בודקים.
צילום: פורום עוטף ישראל. pic.twitter.com/gATXk60ASF— almog boker (@bokeralmog) February 16, 2025
