Israel's military is on high alert through October 7, the third anniversary of Hamas's 2023 attack on southern Israel. Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered the alert on Tuesday, citing intelligence that Hamas intends to attack Israeli forces in Gaza on the anniversary.Katz warned that if Israeli forces are harmed, Hamas and the population of Gaza would pay a heavy price beyond all proportion. He also told ministers to prepare for possible jihadist attacks in the West Bank, saying that in such a case Israel would declare war on the Palestinian Authority and launch a comprehensive offensive.The Defence Ministry said the plan was approved with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and would involve large-scale evacuation of residents and destruction of militant infrastructure.Brian Carter, a terrorism specialist at the American Enterprise Institute, said the heightened concern around the anniversary is warranted but doubted Hamas has the capacity for an attack from Gaza in its current degraded state.The October 7, 2023 attack killed about 1,200 people in Israel, according to official figures, and saw 251 hostages taken. Katz said about 6,000 attackers crossed into Israel that day, of whom around 4,000 have since been killed.