ISTANBUL

The Israeli army on Wednesday lifted the closed military zone designation on settlements bordering the war-torn Gaza Strip.

Israel declared the settlements bordering Gaza a “closed military zone” after a Hamas attack in October 2023. It evacuated settlers living near the border before launching a brutal onslaught on the Palestinian enclave, killing more than 57,000 people, most of them women and children.

Now the Israeli army has decided to remove the closed military zone designation, after the government lifted security restrictions that had prevented settlers from returning to their areas, the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said.

Since October 2023, the Israeli government has provided housing funds for Israeli settlers who have been evacuated from the settlements bordering Gaza.

However, the government on Sunday approved a plan to stop housing funds for the evacuated Israeli settlers who refuse to return to their settlements near the Gaza border.

The Israeli decision comes a day after US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Israel has agreed to “the necessary conditions” to finalize a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, urging the Palestinian resistance group Hamas to accept the proposal.

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 on the enclave.