There were no new proactive IDF attacks planned against Hamas as of Monday evening despite the Hamas decision a few hours earlier to freeze hostage transfers.
It was unclear if the IDF would still maintain its stance of merely defending the Gaza perimeter without any targeted operations against Hamas going into Tuesday – given that the next hostage exchange was not set for before Saturday anyway – and whether a continued freeze by Hamas later in the week could lead to a reigniting of hostilities on some level.
All of this comes in spite of Defense Minister Israel Katz’s statement, which seemed to signal a potential move for the IDF to take action, though the statement was also vague.
The IDF’s only public statement on Monday came in the morning when it put out a generic warning to Gazans to stay away from IDF perimeter defense lines at 700-1,100 meters from the Israel-Gaza border.
The military said that the Palestinians were now permitted to travel freely between the northern and southern parts of Gaza, but they must be careful not to help Hamas transport weapons to different areas.
Moreover, the military warned Gazans to stay away from IDF positions in the Philadelphi Corridor and to avoid any suspicious maritime movements just off Gaza’s coast.
No statements on Lebanon
There were no public statements by the IDF about Lebanon nor reports of altercations, potentially suggesting that the military on one end and Hezbollah on the other end are preparing for the IDF to complete its withdrawal from southern Lebanon on February 18.
The withdrawal started in late December but was paused and then extended when the IDF said that the Lebanese Army failed to sufficiently take up positions to prevent Hezbollah’s return to southern Lebanon.
In the West Bank, the IDF’s major operation, ongoing since January 21, continued with the arrest of several wanted individuals who had been fleeing security forces in a combined counterterrorism operation by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), Counterterrorism Unit, and IDF in Silat al-Harathiya northwest of Jenin.
Among those arrested was Alaa al-Din Bitawi, a resident of Jenin and one of the Hamas leaders in the camp. Several other wanted individuals who were involved in terrorist activity in Jenin were arrested with him.
Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.