The Israeli Defense Minister announced this Monday the lifting of the state of emergency in force in southern Israel since October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched attacks that caused around 1,200 deaths and 251 hostages. The measure will come into force on Tuesday, as specified by Israel Katz.
“I have decided to adopt the recommendation of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and suspend, for the first time since October 7, 2023, the special situation on the internal front”, said the minister, in a statement published by the Israeli media.
The decision, highlighted Israel Katz, “reflects the new security reality in the south of the country, achieved thanks to the determined and decisive actions of our heroic troops against the terrorist organization Hamas in the last two years”.
The measure puts an end to the “special situation” that only existed in the south of Israel, allowing the lifting of restrictions on gatherings and the reopening of areas close to the Gaza Strip, said the same informative note cited by the Israeli media.
Although the state of emergency has formally maintained until now, the region had already returned to much of normality in recent months.
According to data from the Israeli Government, around 90% of residents of ‘kibbutz’, agricultural communities that were one of the targets of attacks by the Palestinian extremist group Hamas in October 2023, have already returned to their homes.
The Hamas attacks triggered an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip, territory controlled by the extremist group since 2007, which lasted around two years and killed more than 68,000 Palestinian people in the enclave.
After indirect negotiations, driven by the United States and supported by other international mediators such as Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire, in force since October 10.
The ceasefire also allowed the reopening of Zikim Beach – the closest to Gaza and which was one of the entry points for Hamas militiamen in October 2023 – for the first time since the start of the Israeli offensive, two years ago.
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