Tel Aviv, Oct. 7 -- Israel has raised its military alert to the highest level as the country marks the Sukkot festival, coinciding with the second anniversary of the October 7 Hamas massacre, where terrorists entered southern Israel and killed over 1200 people, and took 251 people hostage. As of now, 48 hostages are currently still held in Gaza with only 20 said to be alive.
The alert comes amid orders issued by the IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, who instructed troops to raise operational readiness to maximum following a high-level security assessment with senior commanders on Monday, the army said, reports Times of Israel.
In a statement, the IDF said Zamir instructed that "the defensive effort will be the main effort until the ...