[The defense minister said he has instructed the military to increase their alertness to deal with possible attacks] On October 6, Israeli Defense Minister Katz issued a statement that day, claiming that intelligence showed that the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) planned to launch an attack on the 7th, the third anniversary of the outbreak of the new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict. He had instructed the Israeli army to fully increase its alert status. Katz insisted in an official statement that day that the Israeli military must prepare for the worst-case scenario and "take decisive action in response to any intelligence or warning in addition to ongoing strong operations to thwart any threat." Katz also threatened that if the Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip were harmed in any way, Hamas and the local residents of Gaza would pay an "unusually heavy price." (CCTV News)