IDF shifts to solely defensive operations in the Gaza Strip - Jerusalem Post Staff

 

by Jerusalem Post Staff

Gaza City will remain under siege, but the IDF will not move from the lines it has already reached, N12 reported.

 

Israeli soldiers enter Gaza at the border as seen from Israel, October 3, 2025

(photo credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)

 

The IDF shifted from offensive to only defensive maneuvers in the Gaza Strip, Israeli outlet N12 reported on Saturday.

Gaza City will remain under siege, but the IDF will not move from the lines it has already reached. 

A senior Israeli official confirmed to N12 that the political echelon “instructed the IDF to move to defensive activity only in the Strip and to stop the operation to capture Gaza City.”

IDF's Arabic-language Spokesperson Avichay Adraee stated that the area north of Wadi Gaza is still considered an active combat zone in a statement on X/Twitter.

#عاجل ‼️إعلان وإنذار عاجل إلى جميع سكان قطاع غزة
🔴المنطقة الواقعة شمال وادي غزة ما زالت تعتبر منطقة قتال خطيرة. البقاء في هذه المنطقة يشكّل خطرًا كبيرًا ولذلك يبقى شارع الرشيد مفتوحًا أمامكم للانتقال جنوبًا
⭕️قوات جيش الدفاع لا تزال تُطوّق مدينة غزة حيث تشكل محاولة العودة إليها… pic.twitter.com/882HY8gu1l

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) October 4, 2025

IDF still considers areas of Gaza an active combat zone

“For your safety, avoid returning north or approaching areas where IDF forces are operating anywhere in the Strip — including its southern regions,” the statement reads.

On Friday evening, IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir instructed the military to prepare for the release of the hostages.

In a statement, the IDF said that it will transfer a majority of its manpower to the  Southern Command to ensure the protection of Israeli troops.

The Prime Minister's Office said that it would work to implement the first stage of Trump's plan to facilitate the immediate return of the hostages. 

“In light of Hamas’s response, Israel is preparing for the immediate implementation of the first stage of President Trump’s plan for the immediate release of all the hostages. We will continue to work in full coordination with the president and his team to bring the war to an end in accordance with the principles set by Israel, which are consistent with President Trump’s vision," a statement from the Prime Minister's Office read. 

Despite Israeli media's reports that the IDF moved to defensive operations, Reuters, citing Gazan authorities, reported that Israel struck multiple targets in the Gaza Strip on Saturday.

Israeli fire killed six people across the Gaza Strip, the Gazan Strip's authorities said. One strike killed four people in a house in Gaza City, while another killed two others in Khan Younis in the south, medical workers and Gazan authorities said.

Jerusalem Post Staff

Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/defense-news/article-869370

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