Israel’s security establishment is on high alert ahead of the third anniversary of the October 7 massacre according to the Gregorian calendar. The IDF is preparing for potential escalation in Gaza, Judea, and Samaria, with the baseline scenario including attempts by terror groups to replicate the October 7 attack—launching assaults against settlements and IDF forces in Judea and Samaria and against Israeli troops inside the Yellow Line in Gaza.
In a cabinet meeting today, Defense Minister Israel Katz laid out the main scenarios the security establishment is preparing for. Beyond concerns about jihadist attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers, security officials are also preparing for an even more extreme and severe scenario—a complete reversal by ‘Palestinian’ Authority mechanisms and the Tanzim militias associated with it. According to Katz, such a case wouldn’t be just another passing wave of terror or a prolonged intifada, but an all-out war against the ‘Palestinian’ Authority.
A comprehensive operational plan to deal with these scenarios has already been formulated and approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the defense minister, after being presented to cabinet ministers. According to the plan, the planned campaign would be short and intense, including air and ground firepower, targeting senior figures, destroying weapons caches and terror infrastructure, alongside large-scale evacuation of Arabs from combat zones.
Parallel to the heightened alert and as the third anniversary of the war approaches, the IDF is releasing new data about the prolonged fighting and the underground campaign. One of the main infrastructures recently uncovered is an underground route about a kilometer and a half long, dubbed “Schwartz.” The route was located in an area added to IDF control as part of expanding the Yellow Line—a move carried out for operational reasons to provide better protection for forces and nearby settlements.
This tunnel was destroyed by forces in sections, causing significant damage to the route and the surrounding area. Security officials note this isn’t an isolated case; since the ceasefire took effect, the IDF has destroyed numerous tunnels in the Yellow Line area. Some of these infrastructures were known to intelligence but were only physically exposed and accessible following the expansion of operational control in the field, allowing forces to reach them and neutralize them completely.