During a situational assessment on Thursday, Minister of Defense Israel Katz, the heads of the Operations and Intelligence Directorate, the head of COGAT, and other senior defense officials discussed the predicted arrival of protest flotillas to the Gaza Strip coastline.
This IDF asked the Defense Minister for instructions on handling the protest ships. In response, Katz instructed the IDF to allow the flotillas to arrive in Gaza, for the protesters to disembark in the Strip, and then to seize the ships and take them to the port of Ashdod.
According to his plan, the move will allow for the ships to be used to evacuate the residents of Gaza who wish to leave.
"Those who come to protest on the shores of Gaza for the residents of Gaza - we'll send them into Gaza and will use the ships to take residents out of Gaza," Katz stated.