Israel Raises Military Alert as October 7 Anniversary Nears

(Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz. Photo by Financial Times)

Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz has put the military on high alert ahead of the anniversary of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack.

His office said the order came after intelligence that Hamas plans to carry out attacks on Israeli forces in Gaza on that day.

The statement warned that if troops are harmed, Hamas and the people of Gaza will pay a heavy price, far beyond all proportion.

The October 7 attack was the deadliest day in Israel's history, with 1,221 people killed, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures.

Militants also took 251 hostages into Gaza, and 44 of them were already dead.

Israel responded with a military offensive that has left most of Gaza in ruins and killed more than 74,200 people, according to Gaza's health ministry.

The ministry is under Hamas authority, but the United Nations considers its figures reliable.

Since a ceasefire was declared last October, Israeli forces have killed more than 1,440 people in Gaza, the ministry says.

On Monday, at a state ceremony marking three years since the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there would be no Hamas rule in Gaza.

He vowed to keep going after anyone who took part in the attack or held hostages.