The IDF Home Front Command is preparing to allow a partial return home for residents of the northwestern Negev.
Residents of communities located four to seven kilometers (2.5 miles to 4.3 miles) from the Gaza Strip will be able to voluntarily return to their homes. They will receive grants of 200 shekels (some $55) per adult and 100 shekels (around $28) per child.
Kibbutz Bror Hayil, Kibbutz Dorot, Kibbutz Gvar’am, Moshav Mavki’im and Moshav Yakhini fall within this range. An exception was made for residents of Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, which is less than two miles from the border.
Following the Oct. 7 massacre of communities near the Gaza border, all residents within seven kilometers of the Strip were evacuated.
After the residents return, the IDF will boost local security teams, providing them with better equipment. They will be trained by the military and will be considered employed by the army.
It will take longer for the residents of Sderot and other communities closer to the border to be able to return to their homes due to the extensive damage inflicted there during the Oct. 7 invasion.
