From the Liveblog of
Thursday, December 28, 2023
Gantz: Israel approaching day it’ll return residents of some southern border towns
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Israel is “getting closer to the day when we can allow a return to some of the communities” along the Gaza border, war cabinet minister Benny Gantz tells representatives of several southern regional councils.
Gantz, who heads the National Unity party, says that he discussed a partial return to the evacuated towns with the heads of the Tekuma (Revival) Administration, which has been tasked with rebuilding Gaza border communities and that “we are all preparing for it.”
“I will work to have the issue brought up for discussion in the war cabinet in the near future,” he promises, adding that “when it becomes possible and the return process led by the Defense Ministry, it will be carried out in full coordination with the heads of the authorities, so that every locality, community and every individual receives the solutions adapted to their needs with massive support from the state.”
Some 125,000 people from kibbutzim, moshavim, towns and villages near Gaza and Lebanon were evacuated following the outbreak of war on October 7, when Hamas broke through the Gaza security barrier and rampaged through southern Israel, killing more than 1,200 people and taking over 240 hostage.
