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ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 651

Gaza border communities

Aviad Friedman, head of the Tekuma Directorate, explains a funding plan to enable Gaza border communities to attract new residents by increasing their housing portfolios. The meeting was held at Kibbutz Alumim, southern Israel, July 10, 2025. (Tekuma Directorate)
July 10, 2025, 7:54 pm
Government unveils plans to double population of Israeli communities along Gaza border
Flexible financial package to increase housing includes NIS 560 million of state funds, guarantees for NIS 1 billion in loans to be raised by Jewish Agency
By Sue Surkes
Kibbutz Nirim, after renovations. (Epstein Project Managers/Tekuma Directorate)
June 29, 2025, 9:06 pm
State approves immediate return home of 7 of 13 worst-hit Gaza border communities
Defense Ministry withdraws prohibitions after Tekuma Directorate completes many repairs; state will generally stop supporting rental payments for the seven, with some exceptions
By Sue Surkes
Illustrative: Clutching bags of essentials, Petah Tikva residents evacuate homes shattered by Iranian missile strike, June 16, 2025. (Stav Levaton/Times of Israel)
June 17, 2025, 12:18 pm
Oct. 7 evacuees from Kibbutz Re’im are fleeing back home amid Iranian missile fire
Back in their protected rooms, survivors of the onslaught face renewed trauma as successes in the war with Iran cause them to ask where the military was during the 2023 massacre
By Sue Surkes
Volunteer security team members from the Gaza border hone their shooting skills at at an IDF range. (Magen Yehuda)
May 10, 2025, 8:13 am
IDF joins forces with NGO to turn community security teams into lean fighting machines
After Oct. 7 failures led to the killing of 48 civilian first responders, a grassroots org launches Magen 48 to professionally train security volunteers from 66 Gaza border communities
By Sue Surkes
A mural in Ofakim's Mishor Hagefen neighborhood honors those killed in the October 7, 2023, massacre, September 19, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
April 21, 2025, 6:47 am
A scarred Ofakim neighborhood grows into a community after October 7
After 52 people were murdered by Hamas terrorists during the onslaught, local residents pull together, finding comfort in communal activities, events and memorials
By Sue Surkes
Billy (C), a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel who was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, enjoys having her chin stroked by the IDF soldier who found her in southern Gaza's Rafah, while she's held by Rachel Dancyg, her owner, upon their reunion in Nir Oz, on April 16, 2025.
April 16, 2025, 6:00 pm
Billy the Spaniel, abducted on Oct. 7, found in Gaza, reunites with her family in Kibbutz Nir Oz
Dog ran into IDF reservist’s arms in Rafah, and he took care of her there for 4 days before returning her to owner Rachel Dancyg, whose brother and ex-husband were murdered in Hamas captivity
By ToI Staff
Illustrative: An Israeli Air Force F-15 Eagle fighter aircraft flies over Haifa on September 24, 2024. (Jack Guez/AFP)
April 16, 2025, 8:29 am
IAF fighter jet accidentally drops bomb near Israeli border community; none hurt
Munition explodes on impact, causing large crater in open area of Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak; IDF says it was result of ‘technical malfunction,’ will investigate further
By Emanuel Fabian
Members of Zaka walk through the destruction caused by Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, as they collect the dead bodies, near the Israeli-Gaza border, in southern Israel, October 15, 2023. (Edi Israel/ Flash90)
March 26, 2025, 8:22 am
‘A murder in every corner’: 60-year resident writes book on Kfar Aza challenges post-Oct. 7
Ami Cahana, author of ‘Journey Back to the House of Betrayal,’ reflects on his reeling community where 64 were slaughtered by Hamas. Revival will depend on newcomers, he says
By Sue Surkes
A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows an Israeli army tank stationed on a hill overlooking northern Gaza on February 12, 2025. (Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
February 23, 2025, 11:56 pm
IDF raises readiness along Gaza border, while ending civilian restrictions in north
Ramped-up preparedness on Gazan front comes amid talk of possible return to fighting, but not in response to concrete threat near border; no changes to instructions for civilians
By Emanuel Fabian
Marcelle Taljah, seen with her new granddaughter on October 6, a day before she was murdered. (Courtesy)
February 19, 2025, 5:42 pm
Government urged to recognize as orphans those who lost sole living parent on Oct. 7
Law currently grants significant compensation to people of all ages if both parents are victims of hostile act; group says for some 60 people, their only parent was killed by Hamas
By Sue Surkes
A newly renovated library at the Sdot Negev Regional Council in southern Israel. (Tekuma Directorate)
February 17, 2025, 6:43 am
Rebuilding, renewing: Directorate details billions in funds for Gaza border communities
Report marking 500 days since Hamas onslaught says residents of Kerem Shalom, Re’im, likely to go home by end of March, Nirim by end of April, Nahal Oz by end of July
By Sue Surkes
Haredi men protest and clash with police against the ultra-Orthodox draft on January 28, 2025. (Photo by Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
February 13, 2025, 2:50 pm
Daily Briefing Feb. 13: Day 496 – Likud lawmakers push toward Haredi draft
Political correspondent Sam Sokol reviews political shifts on Haredi military service; environment reporter Sue Surkes reports on Jewish Climate Trust and rebuilding in the south
By Jessica Steinberg, Sue Surkes and Sam Sokol
President Isaac Herzog and his wife Michal pay their respects on October 9, 2024 at a memorial to five security team members who fell fighting Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, at Moshav Mivtachim, close to the Gaza border in southern Israel. (Maayan Toaf / GPO)
February 12, 2025, 7:02 am
Just 138 yards too far from the Gaza border, towns are denied post-Oct. 7 state support
As their immediate neighbors receive rehabilitation funds from the national Tekuma Directorate, four communities are suffering the same effects from the war, without the support
By Sue Surkes
Moira Dror looks out over Netiv Ha’asara, with northern Gaza just a few dozen yards behind her, January 30, 2025. (Jeremy Sharon / The Times of Israel)
January 31, 2025, 5:14 am
Trepidation and resilience in southern Israel as hostages, terrorists, Gazans go home
Residents of western Negev worry about security after ceasefire with Hamas but are defiant in their will to stay. ‘I’m not giving Hamas that victory,’ says Netiv Ha’asara resident
By Jeremy Sharon
Cafe Otef-Re’im is the flagship in a growing chain that honors and benefits communities ravaged by the October 7, 2023, Hamas atrocities. (Deborah Danan/ JTA)
December 16, 2024, 5:03 am
Cafe chain launched by and for Oct. 7 survivors is expanding to more cities
Named for the Gaza border region, Cafe Otef employs people affected by the massacre and sources products like cheeses, honey, jams and specialty cakes from devastated kibbutzim
By Deborah Danan
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