IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz warned terrorist groups on Tuesday against attacking Israel.
Speaking at a special event marking the 35th anniversary of the IDF’s Shaldag Unit, of which he himself was a commander between 1989 and 1991, Gantz said, “Hamas and the other terrorist organizations in Gaza should know that if they harm Israeli citizens we will hit them hard and it would be wrong of them to test our strength.”
Gantz also praised the work of the Shaldag Unit in the fight against terror, saying, “When we look at the threat surrounding us, we need operational capabilities, courage and good people, and the Shaldag Unit has been one of our very significant pillars over the years.”
The Shaldag Unit was established in 1976 under the command of Muki Betzer. Shaldag’s mission is to deploy undetected into combat and hostile environments to conduct special reconnaissance, establish assault zones or airfields, while simultaneously conducting air traffic control and commando actions.
Gantz’s comments came as large security forces were spread out along Israel’s border with Egypt due to a heightened terror alert in Israel’s south.
On Tuesday, Minister for Homeland Defense Matan Vilnai warned that a terror cell with more than ten members is in the Sinai desert and will soon attempt to infiltrate into Israel.
