IDF deploys additional combat troops, over 100 snipers to Israel-Gaza border ahead of mass zombie-style march, as Hamas terror group pledges to prevent rioters from breaching fence.
Hamas, the terrorist group that rules Gaza has called for a series of “peaceful protests” beginning March 30, when the so-called Palestinians mark Land Day.
Hamas said it expected as many as 100,000 Gazans to take part in Friday’s zombie-style “March of Return” along the security border fence.
Bracing for violence and Muslim riots, the IDF has deployed Infantry, Armored Corps and Combat Intelligence troops, alongside special forces, sappers and more than 100 snipers to the border.
Military, Border Police and Israel Police troops on the ground will be backed by aerial assistance to better monitor protesters’ movement along the fence and alert the troops in the event of attempts to target IDF posts or infiltrate border-adjacent communities.
“We will not allow security infrastructure to be compromised,” IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot said Tuesday. “If the Palestinians think they can organize a march and cross the fence into our territory, they are wrong.”
“We will use an iron fist to prevent protesters from infiltrating Israel. We have granted permission to open fire if lives are in jeopardy. [Hamas leader Ismail] Haniyeh and whoever sent them [the protesters] there will be solely responsible for whatever happens.”
Meanwhile, the deputy Hamas terror group leader in Gaza, Khalil al-Hayya, visited the tent cities erected in five locations on the Israel-Gaza border to house the rioters coming from across Gaza on Thursday and delivered a similar message, calling for mass participation but stressing the riots should be done in “peaceful ways.”
The riots are due to end on May 15, the day Arabs call the “Nakba” or “Catastrophe”, marking the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.
