According to the ToI report, 2 companies of reserve IDF troops were deployed to the West Bank 2 days before the massacre. The number of troops carrying out routine security at the Gaza border was not changed.
The 100 or so soldiers were deployed to the West Bank’s Huwara, the Kan public broadcaster reported, amid heightened tensions there. A shooting attack in the Palestinian town took place against an Israeli family later that day. There were no injuries in the shooting.
Following the report, IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said there was no change in the number of troops carrying out routine security on the Gaza border ahead of Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, but that redeployment of the two commando companies away from Gaza would be investigated.
“The deployment of the forces that carry out regular operational activities [on the border of] the Gaza Strip did not change before October 7,” Hagari said in response to a question at a press conference.
“We will investigate in depth the decision on the reserve forces, which is a General Staff decision that is made regularly according to a situational assessment,” he said.
The term “reserve forces” in this case does not mean members of the reserve army, but rather troops that bolster various regions, based on assessments carried out by the IDF General Staff. The two Commando Brigade companies were part of the reserve forces, rather than those carrying out routine security.
“Every weekend, we position the reserve forces [in different areas], depending on the threats,” Hagari said. “We will investigate this when we have the operational possibility.”
So you're making a conspiracy @Wedonttalkaboutboris about the IDF moving 2 of their reserve troops to the West Bank because of heightened tensions there? Certainly it was a mistake in hindsight but not what you are implying.