Zein Khalil and Mohammad Sio
30 June 2025•Update: 30 June 2025
JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL
The Israeli government approved a plan Sunday to stop funding housing for Israelis who lived in Gaza border settlements and were evacuated following the October 2023 attacks by Hamas and has given them until the end of July to return home, the local Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported.
The decision, approved through a phone poll vote, ends temporary housing arrangements for evacuees from 12 communities heavily affected by the Hamas-led attack. Israeli military officials confirmed that there are no longer security restrictions preventing residents from returning to these areas as of July 1.
The settlements include Be'eri, Holit, Kissufim, Kfar Aza, Kerem Shalom, Nahal Oz, Nirim, Nir Yitzhak, Nir Oz, Netiv HaAsara, Sufa and Ein HaShlosha, according to the Tekuma Authority, which oversees the rehabilitation of border communities.
Tens of thousands of residents had been relocated to hotels and apartments in central Israel since the war began.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum criticized the move, saying it contradicts the government's justification for continued fighting in Gaza.
“If there’s no security restriction to returning to the border area, then there’s no justification to prolong the war,” the group said in a statement.
“The government has once again proven what much of the public already knows: the threat from Gaza has diminished. It's time to reach a comprehensive deal to return all 50 hostages and bring the mission to a close.”
Tel Aviv estimates that there are 50 Israeli hostages in Gaza, including 20 alive. There are more than 10,400 Palestinians being held in Israeli prisons, suffering from torture, starvation and medical neglect, which has resulted in many deaths, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media reports.
The Israeli army, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing more than 56,500 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war crimes against civilians in the enclave.
