The Israeli government on Sunday approved the immediate return of residents to seven of the 13 southern communities devastated during the October 7, 2023 Hamas assault. These communities were among the hardest hit during the brutal terror onslaught.
All military restrictions in these areas have been removed, and critical infrastructure has been restored to allow residents of Re’im, Kerem Shalom, Nirim, Ein Hashlosha, Sufa, Nir Yitzchak, and Netiv Ha’asara to come back starting Tuesday if they choose.
Those who do not return by July 31 will lose access to government-funded rental housing.
Work is expected to wrap up in Nachal Oz during August, opening the door for residents there to return in time for the new academic year.
Kissufim residents are projected to receive the go-ahead in November 2025, with the communities of Holit, Kfar Aza, and Be’eri slated for return sometime in 2026.
Kibbutz Nir Oz, where Hamas terrorists stormed nearly every home and either murdered or abducted roughly a quarter of its 400 residents, has not yet received a return date. Only six homes were left untouched in the brutal assault that left 117 people dead or kidnapped.
Nir Oz residents recently finalized an agreement with the state, which includes over NIS 350 million (about $95 million) for long-term recovery and reconstruction. The kibbutz’s rebuilding effort is in its earliest stages, and residents remain in temporary housing in Kiryat Gat paid for by the government.
Ze’ev Elkin, the minister overseeing the rehabilitation of communities along both the Gaza and Lebanese borders, stated, “Thanks to a deep partnership with the communities, the Tekuma Directorate [responsible for rehabilitating the Gaza border area] and local authorities, we were able to shorten schedules, expand budgets, and create an infrastructure that allows not only a return, but growth as well.”
He also pledged that the region would be “restored, developed, and be a symbol of the strength, resilience and resurrection of Israeli society as a whole.”
Aviad Friedman, who heads the Tekuma Directorate, emphasized that with the lifting of military constraints, residents can now return “as a community” to their homes.
Nir Mesika, who leads the Construction, Housing and Infrastructure Division of the directorate, said his team quickly realized that the rebuilding effort had to break with conventional methods. “Given the extraordinary events on every scale that occurred in the region on October 7, the physical rehabilitation had to be different.”
Mesika explained that the agency’s model gave local communities a major role in shaping their own recovery, saying, “with the understanding that this was the way to advance the healing and rehabilitation processes of the communities themselves. We will continue to work with full vigor, together with the communities, until the entire process of building and rehabilitating the settlements in the region is completed.”
Immediately following the Hamas invasion — during which around 1,200 Israelis were killed and 251 taken hostage — authorities evacuated 46 farming communities and the city of Sderot, all within about four miles of the Gaza border.
As of the end of May 2025, the Tekuma Directorate reported that 92% of those displaced had gone back to their homes.
The government’s long-term objective is to nearly double the Gaza border population from 64,000 before the war to 120,000 by October 2033.
Still, it remains unclear how many of the 5,000 people from the 13 most devastated towns and kibbutzim will ultimately return, or how long they’ll stay if they do.
The Habayta Forum, an advocacy group for the hardest-hit areas, estimated in May that about 30% would never come back. The State Comptroller placed the figure at closer to 13%.
Though much of the physical damage has been repaired, communities close to Gaza are still affected by the sounds and tremors from Israel’s military campaign. The booming echoes of airstrikes continue to rattle homes near the border day and night.
In Kibbutz Nirim, community leader Maya Liberman reported that shockwaves from nearby IDF strikes have caused fresh structural damage across the community. “Shutters fall out, windows burst, doors dislocate, pergolas separate from houses, and drinking glasses break. The kibbutz just moves,” Liberman told The Times of Israel. “There are also big underground pipe bursts that were never an issue before this war.”
The damage stems from ongoing Israeli airstrikes aimed at Hamas military sites and underground tunnel networks in Gaza.
“You don’t have to be clever to understand that there’s a war on, and it’s very hard to be here [close to the border] and to sleep,” said Ziv Mazliach, chairman of the Habayta Forum and a Kfar Aza resident currently living in Kibbutz Ruhama. “I live in Ruhama, and my house moves whenever [the IDF] bombs northern Gaza. I don’t know how many will come back even if the army decides it’s okay.”
Mazliach highlighted a recent survey by the Forum showing that many residents of the border communities are struggling financially and emotionally.
According to the poll, just 45% of 585 respondents from 11 frontline communities were employed full-time — a sharp drop from the 70% employed before October 7. Among those not working at all (28.1%), nearly half said emotional or mental challenges were the primary reason.
Nearly 60% of those surveyed said their expenses had skyrocketed since the war began, and more than 70% admitted feeling more financially insecure than before the Hamas attack.
Mazliach said that while the reconstruction was “very nice,” much more is needed to rebuild lives. He insisted that the return of the hostages, rebuilding trust in the government, and significant investments in job opportunities, education, healthcare, and psychological services were all essential. As he put it, helping people recover takes “more than plaster and paint.”
{Matzav.com}