IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, speaking at a graduation ceremony at the Israel Navy Academy on Sunday night, addressed the recent rocket fire at southern Israel from the Gaza Strip and last week's escape from Gilboa prison by six Palestinian terrorists, two of whom are still on the run.
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"In recent weeks the challenge in the Palestinian arena has become more acute," he told the navy's newest officer class. "The IDF is working to provide security on all fronts, particularly in Judea and Samaria. Last week, the IDF helped capture the prisoners and is working with the police and Israel Prisons Service," he said.
"We've apprehended four [of the escaped prisoners], and it's only a matter of time until before the defense establishment reaches the other two. We will not stop until they are caught and will not allow the terrorist organizations in Gaza and Judea and Samaria to turn this event into a reason to harm the country's citizens."
Following their escape, the six terrorists were reportedly refused transport to the West Bank city of Jenin, according to details leaked from the Shin Bet interrogation of the four escapees who have been recaptured.
Once outside the prison walls, the fugitives reportedly headed on foot toward the nearby Arab town of Na'ura, some seven kilometers (4.3 miles) from the jail, where they begged several residents to drive them to Jenin, but were rebuffed.
After being denied by local residents, the six allegedly spent less than an hour in a local mosque where they showered and changed clothes before leaving the town. Israeli investigators initially thought they had spent the night there.
Security forces were said to be narrowing in on the location of the last two fugitives – Iham Kamamji and Munadil Nafiyat – both members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group, with searches focusing on the Jezreel Valley and Jenin.
The IDF chief, meanwhile, warned terrorist groups in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas, that "if the situation escalates, Hamas and the Gaza Strip will pay a heavy price."
Later Sunday night, Israeli jets attacked Hamas targets in Gaza in response to rocket fire at southern Israel.
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