Israeli Defense Minister orders increased military readiness in Gaza ahead of October 7 anniversary

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has ordered the Israel Defense Forces to increase alert levels in Gaza ahead of October 7, the anniversary of the radical Islamic Palestinian movement Hamas's invasion of Israel, which began a full-scale war. Clash Report reports this with reference to the minister’s statement.

“If Israeli forces are harmed, Hamas and the people of Gaza will pay a huge price, incomparable to anything else,” Katz said.

According to him, the decision was made on the basis of intelligence data about possible attempts by Hamas to attack Israeli forces.

Earlier it became known that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) directly warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about an impending attack by the Palestinian radical Hamas movement on October 7, 2023.

UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan allegedly called Netanyahu a week and a half before the invasion and warned him about the plans of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, which “will have consequences far beyond the borders of Israel and Palestine” and could destabilize the entire Middle East. Joining the UAE leader on the phone call was his close adviser, a Palestinian who emigrated from Gaza to Abu Dhabi many years ago and has maintained strong ties to the enclave.

To bin Zayed's surprise, Netanyahu responded calmly to his warning and said that Israel is ready for any development. According to the publication’s interlocutor, the UAE President hoped that the Israeli Prime Minister would take his message seriously and take action, but he hid the information received from the heads of the defense departments.