Israel puts military on alert for Oct 7 anniversary, warns Gazans

Israel's defence minister on Tuesday said he had put the military on high alert before the anniversary of Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, warning Gazans would pay a "heavy price" if forces were harmed.

The office of Defence Minister Israel Katz said the instruction came "in light of intelligence regarding Hamas's intentions to attempt to carry out attacks and terror operations against our forces in Gaza on that day".

"If, heaven forbid, our forces are harmed, the ones who will pay the heavy price will be Hamas and the population of Gaza -- beyond all proportion," the statement added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Tuesday suggested during a government meeting that Hamas could try to attack Israel ahead of elections later this month.

"We are prepared for this; first and foremost, we will thwart such attempts, and in any case, we will respond with overwhelming force if they make this mistake," Netanyahu said.

Israelis will head to the polls on October 27, with Netanyahu locked in a tight race for re-election.

Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack was the deadliest in Israel's history, resulting in the deaths of 1,221 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Militants also dragged 251 hostages into Gaza, 44 of them already dead.

In response, Israel launched a military offensive that has left most of Gaza in ruins and killed more than 74,200 people, according to Gaza's health ministry, which is under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.

Since a ceasefire was declared last October, Israeli forces have killed more than 1,440 people in Gaza, according to the ministry.

On Monday, during a state ceremony to mark three years since the attack, Netanyahu said there would be "no Hamas rule in Gaza" and vowed to continue targeting anyone who was involved in the attack or who held hostages.