Israel army chief says reinforcing troops on all fronts, citing heightened risk ahead of election

JERUSALEM - Israel’s army chief said on Oct 14 that the military was reinforcing troop levels “across all fronts”, citing an increased risk of escalation as the country heads into elections later in October.

On a visit to the occupied West Bank, Lieutenant-General Eyal Zamir said the potential for incidents on Israel’s borders had grown because of the election period, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing a tight race to stay in power in the Oct 27 poll.

“In light of the increased number of alerts across all fronts and the sensitivity of this period, the potential for escalation has grown,” he said, according to an Israeli military statement.

“We have reinforced our forces across all areas.”

He added that the military had raised its level of readiness as it prepares “for scenarios in which attempts may be made to catch us by surprise”.

Israel recently marked the third anniversary of Hamas’s surprise Oct 7 attack, in which the Islamist militant group’s fighters stormed into Israel with pickup trucks and paragliders and opened fire at sites including a music festival.

Citing the need for “vigilance”, Zamir said the military was “at a high level of readiness to launch extensive offensive operations against anyone who attempts to harm Israeli civilians”.

In Gaza, a year after a US-brokered ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas took effect, the Israeli army now controls more than 60 per cent of the devastated Palestinian territory and its strikes are ongoing.

In Lebanon, violence has decreased in the south since a framework agreement between the government and Israel, which includes the disarmament of Hezbollah. But the implementation of that deal has stalled.

Israel has also faced incoming fire from Iran during the Middle East war, which began in February with US-Israeli strikes on the Islamic republic. AFP