Israel assured this Monday that it will “soon” allow the return of residents of Israeli communities adjacent to the northern area of Loop who were evacuated after the Hamas attack on October 7 and the outbreak of war.
“In accordance with the recommendations given by the Israeli Army and the Defense apparatus, we will soon be able to (allow) the return” of members of the communities that were displaced “in areas in a range of four to seven kilometers north of the Strip ”said Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who visited the area.
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When asked by EFE, a Defense spokesperson did not specify an exact date for the return of the residents of these places.
Some 18,000 inhabitants of 29 towns located between four and seven kilometers from Gaza were relocated to other parts of the country, according to official data.
Likewise, 31,000 residents of the Israeli city of Sderot, very close to Gaza, were sent to another place, to which 16,000 inhabitants of 25 communities almost touching the enclave, just between zero and four kilometers away, were added.
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These places were the most affected by the Hamas attack almost three months ago that took Israel by surprise and left some 1,200 dead, as well as at least 240 people taken hostage and taken to Gaza. More than a hundred of these – as well as the bodies of more than twenty kidnapped people already dead – remain in the Strip.
In total, the Israelis who lived near the Strip and had to be evacuated were about 65,000, most of them now living in lodging houses or hotels in other parts of the country.
The Defense Minister’s announcement today seems to be a step forward for the return of some of them, but it will only affect a relatively minor proportion of evacuees and there is no clear date. Meanwhile, Israeli troops continue to fight tough battles against Palestinian militants inside Gaza, and the Army hopes to progressively reduce the intensity of its offensive during 2024.
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Gallant said today that the process will be “a gradual return, beginning a first phase with the communities within a seven-kilometer radius, and then moving on to the remaining communities.”
The troops are fighting in Gaza with the mind set on getting “life back on track” in the Israeli communities near the enclave, many of them destroyed or with serious material damage after the Hamas attack that caused massacres on October 7, he added. .
