The IDF on Wednesday morning deployed additional troops to its Gaza Division as roads near the border remained closed for the second day amid fears of a retaliatory attack by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group.

The IDF early Tuesday morning raised the alert in the Gaza border area to the highest since Operation Guardian of the Walls following the arrest of an Islamic Jihad commander in Jenin overnight Monday. The IDF’s Southern Command is on alert for rocket or anti-tank attacks or sniper fire.

According to a Channel 12 News report, Israeli security officials warned Hamas via Egyptian mediators not to allow the Islamic Jihad to escalate tensions in the area and that any attacks will be met with a harsh response. Israel holds Hamas responsible for all attacks that originate in the Gaza Strip.

A source in Gaza told Yisrael Hayom that “both PIJ and Hamas could view the events in Jenin as an opportunity to consider a limited escalation, despite the cost. However, Hamas does not want a large escalation, even though no one knows how things will unfold. PIJ has a larger motive for trying to exact revenge.”

In light of the tense security situation, police officers in Sderot, a city near the southern border, detained an Arab sitting at a cafe wearing an M-16 shirt, as seen in the video below:

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)