First Strike in Gaza Requiring Chief of Staff Approval
First report: The elimination of a squad commander planning attacks against IDF forces in the Strip was approved by the Chief of Staff. The army stated the strike was carried out to remove an immediate threat, noting: "There are clear instructions from the political echelon within the framework of the negotiations."
The strike in Beit Lahia this afternoon (Wednesday) in which a Hamas operative was eliminated was carried out with the approval of the Chief of Staff, Rav-Aluf Eyal Zamir. This is the first strike in Gaza carried out with the Chief of Staff's approval, an action that used to be performed routinely—sometimes several times a day. By order of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense, these operations were halted under American pressure.
The eliminated operative was a squad commander who planned attacks against IDF forces operating in the Strip. The IDF stated that the strike was carried out to remove an immediate threat to the forces. According to sources, since the ceasefire, 514 terrorists have been killed in the Gaza sector and about 150 have been wounded. They further stated that the IDF has attacked 790 targets during the ceasefire period.
"There is no policy of lack of motivation by the IDF to prevent attacks, but rather clear instructions from the political echelon within the framework of the negotiations," they said.
Meanwhile, military officials denied the claims of Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman:
"We did not see an exercise by 50 Nukhba operatives to conquer a community. Information arrived from an intelligence source, it was checked, and in parallel we raised alertness, advanced capabilities, and ruled out the event, which in fact did not happen. Indeed, at the request of the political echelon, targeted killings were temporarily stopped, and the instruction to the forces is to prevent an immediate threat without the need for approval from senior military command."
