About two weeks after the ceasefire took effect under U.S. pressure, and amid claims that Israel Defense Forces freedom of action had been limited, new open-fire orders were revealed on Thursday night. The rules, agreed the previous evening between Israel’s political leadership and senior IDF officers, took effect on Friday morning.
Under the new instructions, IDF forces may fire to protect themselves inside the Yellow Line zone when moving into a new area where there is suspicion of enemy presence. In practice, a unit moving between sectors may shoot at suspicious positions where terrorists may be located, and if a threat is identified, airstrikes may also be used, according to Channel 14.
The orders also say troops may open fire anywhere inside the Yellow Line even against an emerging threat, not only when there is an immediate danger. That means that if a terrorist is identified in that area, forces may act against him even if he is not currently carrying out hostile activity or is not within direct firing range. Beyond the Yellow Line, however, the rules are stricter and allow fire only when a clear danger is identified. For example, if a squad preparing to launch rockets is found, it may be hit immediately, but other non-immediate threats still cannot be fired upon.
Separately, the army also changed the approval chain for airstrikes: authorization will now be given by the division commander rather than the corps commander, in an effort to speed up responses on the ground. At the same time, Israeli officials said the underground infrastructure in the Yellow Line area is still being addressed and is expected to be destroyed, even if that takes time because of various constraints. Regarding the Ali Taher ridge, where underground terror bases are located, Israel believes dozens of terrorists are still trapped there and that their only options are surrender or death.
