Gallant says residents of some Gaza border towns may be able to return home in January

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says he expects that some residents of the Gaza border communities devastated in Hamas’s October 7 attack will be able to move home early next year.

In a statement from his office, Gallant says a meeting was held with senior Defense Ministry officials on how to allow those living 4-7 kilometers away from the Gaza border to return home in early 2024 “following the rehabilitation of the towns and creation of the required security conditions.”

“Everyone who cannot return to his home will continue to receive full backing and support from the government,” Gallant says, stressing that this applies equally to those in the south and those along the northern border.

“We are working now to reach a situation in which some of the towns can return starting January 1, those at a distance of 4 to 7 kilometers” from Gaza, Gallant adds, saying that all security data is pointing at such a possibility.