Israel on Thursday extended its closure of Gaza crossings, further restricting the movement of people, goods, and aid over what the IDF said were potential retaliatory attacks following Israel's arrest of a Palestinian terrorist leader earlier this week in Judea and Samaria.
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The army also sent additional forces to the area, beefing up the Gaza Division with artillery, tank, engineering, and special forces units.
On Monday, Israel arrested Bassam al-Saadi, a senior leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization, during an arrest operation in the city of Jenin. Israel has also closed off some of the surrounding roads in the Gaza area and the army has told residents of the area to remain close to bunkers and fortified rooms.
A curfew was even imposed in the communities of Nahal Oz and Kerem Shalom, where residents were instructed to remain in their homes.
The Iran-backed terrorist group declared a full alert among its fighters, implying a threat of imminent retaliation after footage circulating in Israeli media appeared to show al-Saadi may have been hurt during his arrest.
"We detect Palestinian Islamic Jihad's intentions to carry out terrorist attacks," Nimrod Aloni, commanding officer of the Gaza Division, said in a video released by the IDF.
The shutdown "will continue as long as necessary," he added.
The shutdown, which entered its fourth day on Friday, has prevented Palestinian workers from crossing into Israel. It has affected 50 patients a day in need of healthcare outside of Gaza, according to the World Health Organization.
Israeli officials have so far offered no comment on the circumstances of al-Saadi's arrest, but Israeli media reported on Thursday that a military court extended his detention by eight days.
In a tweet following a security briefing on Thursday, Prime Minister Yair Lapid said Israel "will act offensively against any organization that threatens the security of our citizens."
The premier also held another security assessment later on Thursday, which included Defense Minister Benny Gantz.
"We will not accept a long-term situation in which the terrorist organizations will disrupt the lives of the residents. We will not shy away from using force to restore normal life in the south of the country, and we will not stop the policy of arresting terrorist operatives in Israel," Lapid said.
The prime minister decided to postpone a planned vacation in the country's north due to the security tensions.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi toured the Gaza Division on Thursday morning and said he had pre-approved offensive plans should violence escalate.
The recent closures have cut off access for fuel trucks that supply Gaza's sole power plant, which will have to shut down within 36 hours if the crossings are not reopened, officials warned on Thursday.
Already facing cuts that leave them with just 10 hours of electricity a day, Gaza residents would face further blackouts if the plant stopped operating, leaving the enclave's only external source of power a daily feed of 120 megawatts that comes from Israel.
"That would have a grave impact on the daily life of over two million people and vital services," said Mohammad Thabit, of Gaza's power distribution company.
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Egyptian mediators sought to lower tensions between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad after al-Saadi's arrest.
"We are in contact with Egyptian officials but so far there is no satisfactory result, therefore, the full alert status remains," said Daoud Shehab, an Islamic Jihad spokesman.
Abdel-Latif Al-Qanoua, a spokesman for Hamas, the terrorist group that rules Gaza, condemned Israel's closures and said his group had also been in talks with mediators.
"We will not accept the continued closure of crossings and the policy of collective punishment," he said.
