The IDF is preparing to begin returning residents to the first six communities near the Gaza Strip, five of them 4-7 kilometers from the Gaza Strip, and one, Yad Mordechai, is located less than 4 kilometers from Gaza. Two of the communities that will return first are in the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council, and three more in Sha'ar Hanegev. The military stresses that only residents who wish to do so will return to the envelope, and there is no intention to force the measure on families who are not interested.
The plan is to begin returning the residents gradually – first returning communities located 4-7 kilometers from the Gaza Strip, and only then less than 4 kilometers from the border. The first communities to return will be in the northern envelope, after the IDF has achieved significant achievements in the fighting in the northern Gaza Strip, only after that will the communities opposite the southern Gaza Strip return.
The IDF explains that the return of the settlements is carried out in close dialogue with the heads of the local authorities, after a severe crisis of trust among the residents with the military establishment. Unlike in the past, in light of the magnitude of the incident, the Home Front Command conducts a direct dialogue not only with the heads of the local authorities, but also with the communities themselves.
Evacuees in Tiberias, Photo: Eyal Margolin - Ginny
In general, the IDF notes that older people very much want to return to their homes, but families with children are more afraid. Some families with young children agree to return on condition that the IDF guarantees them security, but other families are much more afraid to return, and the army is aware that there are also communities that find it difficult to make a decision as a community to return.
The IDF admits that after October 7, residents cannot be assured that the security risk does not exist, but notes that the threat of raid and infiltration has decreased significantly. The rocket threat has not disappeared either, but has decreased significantly. The big change, the army explains, is the IDF's freedom of action in the Gaza Strip, and the change in the defense concept that is currently taking shape. The IDF notes that the army will maintain many more forces on the Gaza border, and will continue to carry out proactive and offensive operations inside the Gaza Strip.
In addition, the IDF built a plan for securing the communities, dividing them according to the distance from the Gaza Strip and their security needs. Each locality will receive a tailored protection envelope. The army notes that the alert squads will become "alert forces," and they will increase significantly, from 8 members of an alert squad to 18, and in some localities even more. In the army, they talk about an armory in every community, a safe for weapons for each member of the alert squad, an induction fence, cameras and more. These defense elements will also be shared by members of the alert squad in Judea and Samaria and on the confrontation line.
At the same time, the IDF is aware that the education system will not resume operations in the south until the end of February, and without education there will be no return of residents with children to their homes. In addition, the army is promoting the return of public transportation and medical services to the south. In addition, residents who return to their homes will receive a grant back home.
Minister of Defense on the Gaza border: Photo: Ariel Hermony, Ministry of Defense
At the same time, the Defense Ministry's Takuma Administration conducted a mapping of all the communities within 0-4 kilometers of the Gaza Strip, where communities destroyed in the surprise attack will receive an interim response of six months, or even a year, until their homes are renovated.
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