On October 7th Anniversary, Israel Is On High Alert for Another Surprise Attack

As Israel marks the third anniversary of its worst day in history, the country is also on guard for a possible surprise attack that could be launched anytime between the 7th and 27th of October, when the country conducts an election. The Jewish state’s enemies — the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hezbollah, the Houthis, Iraqi militias — have suffered significant setbacks since the 2023 massacre that changed the country’s outlook on local and regional threats. The instigator of the three-year war, Hamas, now controls less than half of Gaza. The massacre mastermind, Yahya Sinwar, is dead, and so are 4,000 of the 6,000 Gazans that participated in the October 7 atrocities. Israelis, though, are eyeing a wounded animal scenario, in which the crippled terror group could lash out. Intelligence officials say they are noticing Hamas preparations in Gaza. Some Hamas officials are eager to launch an attack in October, calculating that on the eve of elections in Israel and America, Washington would pressure the Israelis for restraint in response to a surprise attack.“Sources in the Gaza Strip report that Hamas is moving weapons from underground tunnels to hospitals and schools, and dozens of Hamas operatives are now roaming Nasser Hospital,” N-12’s military correspondent Ohad Hemo reported Wednesday. Such warnings could be related to the upcoming election: Politicians and security officials are eager to show that they are better prepared to answer any threat than three years ago. In 2023 regular citizens were more effective in fighting Hamas than the Israel Defense Forces. Politics aside, no threat can be ignored. Iran just transferred $200 million to Hezbollah to “help Lebanese displaced by this year’s war with Israel,” Reuters reported Wednesday. In reality, the cash-strapped Islamic Republic often makes such deliveries to its Lebanese proxy. Hezbollah, though, is a shadow of its past prowess.“I wouldn’t look at money transfers from Iran as a sign that something is about to happen,” the founder of northern Israel’s Alma Research, Sarit Zehavi, tells The New York Sun. At the same time, she adds, “Hezbollah is constantly busy rebuilding its power. Right now I don’t see any specific preparations for an attack on Israel, but we can’t discount the possibility.” That message is also conveyed by the military brass.“I wish to use this hallowed platform to issue an unequivocal warning to Hamas: Any attempt to attack IDF soldiers or the residents of the Negev will be met with a sharp and powerful response,” the IDF southern command commander, Major General Yaniv Asor, said Tuesday in an October 7 commemoration event. As large gatherings across Israel commemorated the October 7 attack on Wednesday, many noted a change in thinking in the country. In the runoff to the October 27 election, politicians assigned blame for the disaster to the IDF and intelligence units — AMAN, Shin Bet, and Mossad — and ultimately to the government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Now the entire leadership claims that all assaults will be anticipated.The military’s “new compass” is readiness for a surprise attack, the IDF chief, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, told top commanders Tuesday. “It is our duty to prevent surprises and to prepare for them. We are in a period of tension and heightened alertness, and everyone must remain vigilant and ready in their respective sectors.”That spirit is noted by outside observers as well. “Israel will never allow threats to gather again,” President Biden’s former Mideast adviser, Brett McGurk, told podcaster Dan Senor this week. “They will not allow Hamas to reconstitute on their borders. They will not allow Hezbollah to be sitting with 30,000 troops and digging tunnels on the borders, ever.”The Israelis will act against Iran if its nuclear program or ballistic missile program is “getting to a kind of a point of no return,” Mr. McGurk added. And “if an American president tells them not to act or just accept the fact that you’re going to have 30,000 Hezbollah troops on the border, I think any Israeli prime minister will say, ‘Sorry, I got to do it to protect my people.’”

On October 7th Anniversary, Israel Is On High Alert for Another Surprise Attack

On October 7th Anniversary, Israel Is On High Alert for Another Surprise Attack

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