Israeli army to investigate moving of troops from Gaza border 2 days before Oct. 7 attack

By Zein Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli army said Monday that it will investigate the moving of commando troops from the Gaza border towards the West Bank two days before the Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise attack against Israel on Oct. 7.

"We will investigate in depth the decision on the reserve forces, which is a General Staff decision that is made regularly according to a situational assessment," Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari said at a press conference, the Times of Israel news website reported.

He said, however, that the deployment of the forces that carry out regular operational activities on the border of the Gaza Strip did not change before Oct. 7 but the change occurred with regard to the "reserve forces," which serve as troops to bolster various regions.

Hagari said that under the Israeli army’s routine activity, the reserve forces are positioned every two weeks in different areas "depending on the threats."

"We will investigate this when we have the operational possibility," he added.

Earlier on Monday, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (KAN) said two commando brigade companies were moved from the Gaza border to the Huwara area of the northern West Bank two days before the Hamas attack.

The attack by Hamas on Israeli locations surrounding Gaza left hundreds of Israelis killed, including soldiers and civilians, and triggered a deadly onslaught by Israel against the Gaza Strip.

Israel resumed its military offensive on the Gaza Strip on Friday after the end of a week-long humanitarian pause with Hamas.

At least 15,899 Palestinians have been killed and more than 42,000 others injured in relentless air and ground attacks on the enclave since Oct. 7 following the cross-border attack by Hamas.

The Israeli death toll stands at 1,200, according to official figures.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar