Israel's Home Front Command will reportedly allow some residents of border communities near the Gaza Strip to return to their homes as fighting in the north winds down after three months. Preparations are reportedly underway.
Israelis who lived within six miles of Gaza were evacuated after the October 7 attack in which Hamas militants invaded Israel, massacred 1,200 people and abducted 240 others to Gaza. The hardest-hit communities were within two to four miles of Gaza.
Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, seen from southern Israel on Friday, Dec. 1. (AP/Ariel Shalit)
Some have since returned, but many are staying in hotels or kibbutz guesthouses as the fighting continues, according to the Times of Israel.
Aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford returns home after patrol near Israel following October 7 attack
The Times reported on Monday, citing the Home Front Command, that people who were at least 4.5 miles away from northern Gaza, where the IDF says it had destroyed Hamas, would begin returning to their homes, but no date was given.
This follows the reopening last week of the Max and Ruth Schwartz Hesder Yeshiva, a rabbinical seminary in Sderot.
Max and Ruth Schwartz Hesder Yeshiva
The newspaper's report comes as the Israeli military confirms it is withdrawing thousands of troops from the Gaza Strip, paving the way for a new, long-term phase of low-intensity fighting with Hamas. This is a measure that may open the door.
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In a statement, the military said five brigades, or thousands of troops, would be withdrawn from Gaza in the coming weeks. While some will return to base for further training or rest, many older reservists will return home. The war was a huge blow to the economy, preventing reservists from getting jobs, running businesses, or returning to college.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
