Hamas holding 20,000 terrorists for Day of Command if Israel resumes fighting

Hamas is holding about 20,000 terrorists ready for action, with the intention of enabling the renewal of heavy-scale fighting with the IDF, if Israel launches another military maneuver in Gaza, Ynet reported.

At the same time, Hamas is carrying out targeted attacks against IDF forces in areas of operation, in an attempt to preserve strategic assets.

At this stage, most of the Hamas forces have withdrawn deep into Gaza, to the cities of the displaced Gazan residents, in order to preserve the fighting force in the event that Israel launches an all-out attack to defeat the terrorist organization. However, Hamas continues to take advantage of opportunities to attack IDF forces, especially when there is a risk of losing infrastructure, such as attack tunnels.

בתMeanwhile, the investigation into the serious incident that took place on Saturday afternoon, when a terrorist squad emerged from a tunnel and attacked an IDF combat reconnaissance force, is ongoing. According to estimates, the squad emerged from an undiscovered shaft and identified the force approaching through the rear axis of the post.

The terrorists fired an RPG missile at an IDF Hummer vehicle in which female soldiers were traveling, hitting it. Later, they detonated a roadside bomb that hit the rescue force that was called to the scene, killing Command Sergeant Major G’haleb Sliman Alnasasra, 35 from Rahat, and wounding another tracker.

The IDF believes that the operation may have been carried out due to pressure by Hamas after the IDF began operating against that tunnel in recent days. It is believed that the terrorists fled back to the Beit Hanoun area.