Senior IDF officials held a security assessment to discuss an extreme scenario in which Hamas could incite the population in central and southern Gaza to storm the Israeli border during a military assessment, Walla reported on Wednesday.
In response, the military has allocated intelligence resources and reserve forces, and clarified open-fire orders for senior commanders on the ground.
The military assessment also discussed Hamas’s efforts to prevent the distribution of food packages by an American company at three locations in Rafah.
During the discussion, officials noted that tens of thousands of food packages have already been distributed to representatives of families of 50 people each. Each package is designed to last five days.
Hamas has reportedly deployed armed operatives along pedestrian routes to intimidate civilians and prevent them from approaching the distribution centers. In some cases, according to the IDF spokesperson, Hamas terrorists fired live rounds at civilians to deter them. Despite this, residents have found ways to bypass the blockades—from the shelter areas to the distribution centers—in order to receive the food packages.
At the same time, Hamas has been waging a psychological warfare campaign, spreading false information to discourage the public from accepting the aid.
“Hamas understands it is no longer the sole authority in Gaza,” a security official said. “As time goes on, we’ll refine the distribution sites to serve more people and establish additional sites.” The official declined to specify who is funding the packages brought into Israel.
IDF believes more Palestinians will head to southern Gaza to obtain aid
According to Southern Command estimates, more Palestinians are expected to head south to obtain food aid. The assessment also raised several extreme scenarios, including the possibility that Hamas would attempt to attack distribution centers using operatives without clear organizational ties. To mitigate such threats, the IDF has deployed reserve forces in the area.
In addition, Walla has learned that UN officials in the Gaza Strip have refused for over a week to transfer 390 trucks from the Kerem Shalom crossing to the central Gaza Strip.
A security source involved in the process said that Hamas is pressuring the UN not to cooperate, hoping to collapse the American company’s distribution initiative in the south. Initially, UN officials cited legal difficulties in collecting and transporting the humanitarian aid, but according to the security source, the defense establishment believes these are merely excuses.
At this stage, the American company has not set up distribution centers in the north or center of the Gaza Strip, in order to encourage residents to move to shelter areas in the south.