New infrastructure and major investment are reshaping life along the Gaza border, as thousands of new residents join those returning to their communities after being displaced.

By World Israel News Staff

Nearly all residents of Israel’s Gaza border region who were evacuated in the aftermath of the October 7 massacre and the subsequent war against Hamas have returned to their homes. Thousands of new residents have also moved into the area, according to a new report from the government body overseeing its rehabilitation.

The Tekuma Authority, which was established to rebuild communities devastated by the Hamas-led invasion, reported that the vast majority of displaced residents have now returned. The agency is also tasked with attracting new residents and businesses to the region.

According to the report, 92% of the area’s original residents are now back home. In addition, approximately 3,000 new residents have relocated to communities along the Gaza border since the attacks.

Following the October 7 massacre, all communities within seven kilometers of the Gaza border were evacuated, including major population centers such as Sderot, which has around 40,000 residents. Evacuees were housed in hotels and temporary accommodations across the country.

In March 2024, the Israeli government began allowing some residents to return. However, many individuals from heavily damaged kibbutzim only started coming back in recent months, more than two years after the attacks and following a ceasefire reached in October 2025.

The Tekuma Authority said the large-scale return reflects the resilience of the region’s residents and emphasized the government’s significant investment in stabilizing and developing the area.

According to the report, approximately 1.4 billion shekels ($475.5 million) have been invested in education and health care infrastructure. An additional 1 billion shekels ($340 million) has been allocated to establish a new industrial park and support local businesses.

“Our mission is not limited to quickly rebuilding what was destroyed, but to leading a deep transformation that will ensure a prosperous future for the entire region,” said Aviad Friedman, head of the Tekuma Authority, in a statement.

“We are working tirelessly to build foundations for long-term growth,” he added.

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The brief run came after the relatives used loudspeakers to call out messages of love and support for the abductees, and for the government to agree to a deal to release them.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Families of hostages being held by Hamas ran through a gate in the fence around the demilitarized strip bordering Gaza and ran towards the border for several minutes Wednesday before turning back.

In clips uploaded to social media, a few dozen men and women can be seen dashing along a dirt road next to a fence topped with barbed wire, holding pictures of their loved ones and shouting, “[Bring] all of them [home] now!”

One woman can be heard screaming, “Enough!” and another calling out, “Liri, I’m coming!”

Liri Albag was one of five female soldiers kidnapped from the Nahal Oz military base during Hamas’ October 7th invasion, whose job was to observe the goings-on over the Gazan border.

She is still in captivity, held along with 106 other Israelis and foreign nationals by Hamas and other terrorists groups in the coastal enclave.

The runners then turn right through an open gate, going towards the actual border before listening to soldiers begging them to go back.

In describing the incident, the Hostage and Missing Families Forum said that the families “had been shouting through loudspeakers for their loved ones who have been dying in the Hamas tunnels for 328 days. The families, in great pain, broke through the Gaza fence and ran towards the Gaza Strip – crying out to get as close to their loved ones as possible.”

The headquarters also stated, “The families are crying out to close the deal that will bring back their loved ones – the living for rehabilitation and the martyrs and the murdered for burial in their country.”

The families had left Tel Aviv Wednesday evening in a long line of cars and arrived around 10:00 a.m. Thursday with the loudspeakers in the hope of sending powerful messages of hope to their loved ones, as well as one to the government, to agree to all of Hamas’ demands in order to free them, which is the Forum’s guiding principle.

American-Israeli Jon Polin, whose son Hersh was shown alive in a Hamas propaganda video in April, called out, “Hersh, it’s dad. We need you to know that not only the families are here today, and not only the nine million people in this country, but the whole world. We won’t stop until all of you get back home soon.”

Varda Ben Baruch, the grandmother of lone soldier Edan Alexander, who came to serve in the IDF from New Jersey, cried into the microphone, “It’s grandma and grandpa, you are our soul, do you hear us? …. Be strong, you’re strong, survive, we’re doing everything we can for you and for all the other hostages.”

Many begged the hostages not to give up, saying that they were badly missed and tremendously loved, and promising that they would never give up on them.

Some hostages’ families, who believe that capitulating to Hamas would seriously damage Israel’s long-term interests and back the view that the terror organization must be dismantled no matter the private price they may pay, have formed their own group called the Tikva Forum to push for overwhelming military pressure on Hamas to get their loved ones released.

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Netanyahu has insisted that Israel needs to establish security controls within Gaza in the aftermath of the war.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

The IDF is constructing a one-kilometer (0.63 miles) buffer zone on the Gaza border to prevent future attacks like the Hamas invasion of communities in southern Israel on October 7th, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Israel’s military is filling in terror tunnels, demolishing buildings and bulldozing areas to ensure a clear space through which the military can detect any threats that may approach the border with Israel.

Although the border was monitored prior to the October 7th attacks, protests and agricultural activity were allowed close to the security fence, and lookouts reported suspicious individuals posing as farmers and protestors approaching the border prior to the Hamas invasion.

The 21 soldiers who were killed in an explosion in southern Gaza on Tuesday were engaged in a project to clear the area of buildings.

U.S. officials have expressed dismay at the plan, and have claimed that the action will displace Palestinians and give the impression that Israel will be occupying Gaza after the war.

Netanyahu has insisted that Israel needs to establish security controls within Gaza in the aftermath of the war.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed his criticism of the buffer zone plan and said, “We’ve been very clear about our opposition to the forced displacement of people. We’ve been very clear about maintaining in effect the territorial integrity of Gaza.”

However, Blinken later showed more flexibility in the acceptance of a security buffer zone, at least as a “transitional arrangement” with Israel’s military.

Israeli officials have indicated that he buffer zone could be a temporary measure, but haven’t given an estimate on how long it would be needed or the size of the land strip required.

Although it seems the width will be one-kilometer, this may vary in some areas depending on the population of communities on the other side of the zone.

The Israeli military has demolished 1,072 out of 2,824 buildings located a kilometer or less from the border.

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‘The terrorists had a model of weapons on the fence and they would also show how they would blow it up, and co-ordinate how to take over the forces and kill and kidnap.’

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Female lookouts on the Gaza border said their warnings and reports were not heeded before the October 7th massacre according to a report by the BBC.

“Why are we here if no one’s listening?” Shahaf Ashram, one of the first Nahal Oz lookouts killed by Hamas, complained to her mother Illana shortly before October 7th.

The mainly female lookouts, known as tatzpitaniyot, provide a crucial service to the IDF and are often called, “The eyes on the border.”

Their task is to watch the border every second–without squinting or looking away for even the briefest moment, and to record what they see.

The lookouts noticed highly suspicious behavior on the border for several months before the invasions and reported what they saw, but when they expressed concerns, they were often ignored.

One lookout who called herself “Noa” said that when she tried to raise the alarm about the things they saw, they were told that their job was only to watch, and said, “We were just the eyes.”

However, Noa said that the lookouts knew that there was a “balloon that was about to burst” on the border.

What had started as a few men doing fitness exercises evolved into full military terrorist training on the border.

“We would see them practicing every day what the raid would look like,” said Noa. “They even had a model tank that they were practicing how to take over.”

Noa continued, “They also had a model of weapons on the fence and they would also show how they would blow it up, and co-ordinate how to take over the forces and kill and kidnap.”

Another lookout who calls herself Gal said she saw from a surveillance balloon a replica of an Israeli weapon that was built “in the heart of Gaza.”

The lookouts also said they saw people detonating bombs on the wall between Gaza and Israel to test its strength in the weeks leading up to October 7th.

Roni Lifshitz reported that she saw vehicles filled with Hamas terrorists from the Nukba unit, which was mainly responsible for the October 7th attack periodically stop and watch posts from the other side of the fence.

Roni remembers “men talking, pointing at the cameras and the fence, taking pictures.”

Other lookouts observed farmers changing their routines and moving closer and closer to the border.

The lookouts recorded these incidents and even alerted higher-ups to them, but they received no response.

Roni Lifshitz said they were told their messages were being passed on “probably to intelligence but whether they do something with it or not, I don’t really know,” she says. “No one gave us an answer back about what we had reported and conveyed.”

Noa said she filed countless reports and that within the unit, everyone “took it seriously and would pass it on but in the end they [people outside of the unit] didn’t do anything about it.”

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Cairo has refused to allow Israeli drones in the area between Egypt and the Gaza Strip to target detected terrorist activity.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

According to sources in Lebanon, Israel officials believe weapons are being smuggled into Gaza from Egypt and there is a suspicion that Hamas leaders are escaping with Israeli hostages into Egypt through Gaza’s tunnels, a Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar reported on Wednesday.

The report also says the IDF is engaged in an operation to check for tunnels under the Philadelphi route from the Gaza Strip to Egypt.

Hamas leaders may be escaping using hostages as human shields and from Egypt they may be going further afield to Lebanon and Iran where they are likely to be protected.

The IDF is reportedly also extending its intelligence operations in Sinai, Sudan, and Libya.

Although Cairo assured Israel and the Americans that there was no indication of the presence of Hamas operatives on the Egyptian side of the border, Egyptian intelligence expressed willingness to cooperate in examining the information.

However, actual cooperation has proven difficult as Israelis have reported Egypt’s refusal to allow Israeli drones in the area between Egypt and the Gaza Strip to target detected terrorist activity such as rebuilding terror tunnels.

Although Cairo agreed to install a warning system that would alert Israel about attempts to rebuild underground tunnels for smuggling arms, terrorists and hostages, it denied permission for Israeli drones to enter the area saying that it “would be a violation of Egyptian sovereignty.”

Earlier negotiations over the installment of the security system have stalled after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said publicly that Israel should have security controls over the Philadelphi route.

The report that Hamas leaders are using hostages as human shields as they flee or hide was supported by IDF military intelligence officials.

Former IDF general and head of IDF Military Intelligence Directorate  Amos Yadlin told Kan radio that the “butcher of Khan Younis” is “surrounded by hostages in the tunnel network in Gaza.”

The post Hamas leaders escaping with hostages to Egypt via Gaza tunnels–report appeared first on World Israel News.

‘Israel wants this buffer zone between Gaza and Israel from the north to the south to prevent any Hamas or other [terrorists] from infiltrating or attacking Israel.’

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

During ceasefire talks with Qatar in late November, two anonymous Egyptian sources told Reuters that Israel discussed establishing a protective buffer zone after the Gaza war.

The information was shared with Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey.

The source explained, “Israel wants this buffer zone between Gaza and Israel from the north to the south to prevent any Hamas or other [terrorists] from infiltrating or attacking Israel.”

Representatives from most of the Arab nations reportedly disagreed with the idea, as most have objected strongly to Israel’s military actions in Gaza in response to the October 7th massacre, citing the unverified 15,000 Gazan casualties, as Hamas has claimed.

However, according to one source, the United Arab Emirates, which normalized relations with Israel in 2020 under the Abraham Accords, said they would back any solution “agreed upon by all concerned parties.”

The news that Israel is planning a buffer zone is consistent with a plan Israeli Prime Minister revealed to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

Netanyahu told Blinken that he planned to establish a buffer zone “deep” into Gaza.

However, the Biden Administration cautioned that it wouldn’t agree to any plan that would reduce the size of Gaza and that it supports a “revitalized” Palestinian Authority ruling Gaza after the war as a step towards a two-state solution.

President Netanyahu has repeatedly denied that the Palestinian Authority will govern Gaza after the war.

An Israeli official described the buffer zone idea to The Times of Israel on Friday.

“The security establishment is talking about some kind of security buffer on the Gaza side of the border so that Hamas cannot gather military capabilities close to the border and surprise Israel again.”

“It is a security measure, not a political one. We do not intend to remain on the Gaza side of the border.”

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Hundreds of Palestinians descended on the security fence, launching explosive devices toward Israeli territory.

By JNS

Several Gaza residents were injured on Monday during a violent riot along the border with Israel.

Hundreds of Gazans descended on the security fence, launching explosive devices toward Israeli territory, according to the Israel Defense Forces. Some of the rioters also attempted to cross the border into Israel.

The military responded with sharpshooters and non-lethal dispersal means. The IDF reported that several hits were identified, but provided no further detail. A number of Gazans were arrested.

Earlier on Sunday, Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system was activated against an unidentified aircraft over the Hamas-ruled enclave.

The IDF confirmed in a statement that interceptors were fired, but added that it was still investigating whether the aircraft was hit.

The drone had been monitored from the moment it took off and tracked as it made its way toward Israeli territory, according to the statement, which added that it had posed no immediate threat to Israeli communities.

Residents reported hearing a loud explosion from the direction of the Gaza, but were informed that no rocket had been launched from the Strip. No air raid sirens went off and there were no special instructions issued by IDF Homefront Command.

The incident came less than 24 hours after the Iron Dome intercepted a Gaza drone on its way to Israeli territory.

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No soldiers were injured in the blast, which came hours after Palestinian terrorists fired a rocket from Gaza towards Israel, according to the Israeli military.

By JNS

Israel Defense Forces tanks struck a Hamas post in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, after terrorists detonated an explosive device close to troops operating along the border.

The attack occurred while troops were conducting routine maintenance work on the border fence.

The IDF said that no soldiers were injured in the blast, and that an investigation into the incident had been launched.

The military ordered Israeli farmers working in the vicinity to temporarily vacate the area.

Overnight Tuesday, Palestinian terrorists fired a rocket from Gaza towards Israel, which triggered sirens in the southern Israeli community of Nir Am.

The rocket misfired and landed inside the Palestinian enclave, according to the military.

That, in turn, came hours after Israeli forces eliminated in Jenin the Palestinian terrorist who murdered brothers Hallel Menachem and Yagel Yaakov Yaniv near the Arab village of Huwara on Feb. 26.

According to the military, soldiers had come under fire from within the house the terrorist was in, after surrounding it.

Palestinian officials identified the fatality as Abdel Fattah Hussein Kharousha, 49.

The IDF said that in concurrent operations in Nablus troops arrested two of Kharousha’s sons, who are suspected of involvement in the Huwara attack.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the soldiers who “eliminated the abhorrent terrorist who murdered the two wonderful brothers, Hallel and Yigal Yaniv, in cold blood.”

He continued, saying “our brave soldiers acted with surgical precision in the heart of the murderers’ lair. I commend them and send my best wishes for a swift recovery to our wounded. As I have said repeatedly: Whoever harms us will pay the price.”

U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price similarly backed the IDF operation, saying that Israel “has the legitimate right to defend its people and its territory against all forms of aggression, including, of course, those from terrorist groups.”

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A Hamas spokesman denounced what he called Israeli “aggression against our people” but stopped short of threatening to fire rockets.

By Pesach Benson, TPS

Israel is on high alert along the Gaza border amid concerns that Hamas will escalate tensions from heavy clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinian terror groups in Shechem (Nablus) on Wednesday.

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed that soldiers entered Shechem looking to arrest Husam Isleem and Muhammed al-Junaidi, who barricaded themselves inside a house.

Residents of the city were called to join the fighting in social media messages and announcements from local mosques. Footage posted on social media included the sounds of explosions and gunfire.

The Palestinian Authority claimed that 10 people, including Isleem and Junaidi, were killed, and 90 more were injured in the violence. Among the injured were six terrorists who the IDF said were in serious condition.

Palestinian media reports from Gaza say that Hamas is under unprecedented pressure from other armed groups to respond to the violence. A Hamas spokesman denounced what he called Israeli “aggression against our people” but stopped short of threatening to fire rockets.

Senior military officials said Israel is prepared to respond in Gaza to any attacks from the Strip.

Isleem, who was affiliated with the Lion’s Den terror group, and Junaidi, who was affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), have been linked to a terror cell responsible for killing IDF Staff-Sgt. Ido Baruch. The 21-year-old soldier was killed in a drive-by shooting in northern Samaria in October.

Other Palestinians who Israeli security forces identified as killed included Muhammad Abu Bakr, a leader of the PIJ-aligned al-Quds Brigades, Musab Awais, a leader of another terror group known as the Balata Brigade, Muhammad a-Fatah of PIJ and Walid Dahil of the Lions’ Den.

A military spokesperson said no Israeli personnel were injured.

In an ongoing sweep against terror in Judea and Samaria, the Israel Defense Forces have thwarted 500 terror attacks and arrested more than 2,500 suspects. Operation Wave Breaker was launched following a surge of Palestinian terror attacks in the spring of 2022 which killed 19 people.

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Israel holds the terrorist group responsible for all attacks emanating from Gaza, says the IDF.

By JNS

The Israel Defense Forces struck Hamas assets in the Gaza Strip overnight Sunday in response to a rocket launched at the Jewish state the previous day.

Fighter jets targeted an underground rocket manufacturing site belonging to Hamas, constituting a blow to the Palestinian terrorist group’s ability to fortify and arm itself, the IDF said in a statement.

Israel holds Hamas responsible for all attacks emanating from Gaza, said the IDF.

During the Israeli strike, Palestinian terrorists fired four surface-to-air rockets at the jets, causing alarms to sound in the Israeli city of Sderot and in surrounding areas along the border, including Kibbutz Ruhama.

The IDF said that three of the rockets exploded mid-air and one landed in an open field.

No injuries or damage were reported.

In response, Israeli tanks struck additional Hamas positions in Gaza.

On Saturday night, Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system intercepted a rocket fired at the Western Negev by terrorists in Gaza. Sirens sounded in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, along the Gaza-Israel border, said the IDF.

No injuries or damage were reported.

The Iron Dome also downed a rocket fired from Gaza on Feb. 1.

In late January, terrorists in the coastal enclave launched a barrage of rockets at Israeli communities, prompting retaliatory strikes against Hamas military assets.

The post IDF strikes Hamas weapons facility in Gaza in response to rocket fire appeared first on World Israel News.

At the annual Feast of Tabernacles, lawmaker Sharren Haskel cuts her hair in solidarity with Iranian women and tells MPs that Judeo-Christian values require urgent action on behalf of the Persian people.

By Maayan Hoffman, JNS

Israeli lawmaker Sharren Haskel on Tuesday night called on Christian parliamentarians from around the world to demand their governments sanction Iran, in a dramatic address that culminated with her cutting her hair in a show of solidarity with Iranian women.

“Demand that your governments and elected officials stand by the Iranian people at this time, support their protests and help them attain the freedom which they deserve,” Haskel said. “Demand that your countries impose sanctions on the leaders of Iran, the dictators who are leading us to a regional war and who murder and abuse their citizens.

“How long will it take for the world to step in and truly make a difference?” she asked. “The answer depends on some of the people in the room here today.… We must channel our Judeo-Christian values of justice, morality and righteousness into a global voice of life and freedom for all.”

Haskel then joined the Iranian women demonstrating against state-sanctioned violence following the death of Jina Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by Tehran’s “modesty police” for violating hijab laws and later died in custody.

Chanting, “Jin, jiad, azadi; women, life, freedom,” Haskel cut off two large chunks of her hair.

“May next year we have [at this event] … women representatives from Iran as well,” she concluded.

The chair of the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus, Haskel was addressing a room of some 2,000 Christian supporters of Israel, who convened at the Pais Arena in Jerusalem for the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem’s (IECJ) annual Feast of Tabernacles celebration.

The event was last held in person in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, when nearly 6,000 pilgrims attended. Although fewer in total number this year, the participants included representatives from about 80 countries, influencers of millions of people across the globe.

Pushing back against Abdullah

For her part, Haskel used the occasion to also call for Jewish and Christian prayer on the Temple Mount. She stressed that Israel is the only country in the region that protects its Christian minority, pushing back against Jordanian King Abdullah’s recent claim at the United Nations that “Christianity in the holy city [of Jerusalem] is under fire.”

Haskel noted that while “the most persecuted minority in the Middle East are Christians, in Israel you are protected and cherished citizens.”

To which Haskel received a hearty ”hallelujah” from the audience, members of which waved the flags of their nations.

Mogoeng Mogoeng to receive Nehemiah Award

The Feast commenced Sunday in the Galilee, where for the first time participants took part in two evening concerts in Capernaum National Park, where Jesus is believed to have lived and preached. The pilgrims then traveled to Jerusalem for five additional days of events, including Tuesday’s colorful “Roll Call of the Nations” in Pais Arena.

On Thursday, they will be joined by other Christian visitors for the Jerusalem March through the streets of Israel’s capital city. For the first time, Jerusalem’s mayor, currently Moshe Lion, is expected to kick off the march alongside ICEJ President Dr. Jürgen Buhler.

On the final day, participants will head to the western Negev for a solidarity rally and tree-planting ceremony alongside Israelis who live near the border with the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

‘Global South is awakening regarding Israel’

The Feast constitutes the greatest influx of Christian tourists into the country since Israel shuttered its skies in 2020 due to the onset of the coronavorus pandemic, although hundreds of seats oremained vacant n Tuesday in Pais Arena.

“The people who are still a little concerned and careful to come are the traditional supporters from Western Europe and North America,” ICEJ President Buhler told JNS. Instead, “we see an amazing surge from the Global South, unprecedented numbers from Africa, Latin America and Asia. You can really see the Global South is awakening regarding Israel.”

Buhler said that while Christianity is strengthening in these countries, a “battle for Christian values” is taking place in the West.

Approximately 90 delegates from South Africa are attending the Feast, including former chief justice of South Africa Mogoeng Mogoeng, who was recently ordered by his country’s Judiciary Conduct Committee to apologize for publicly supporting Israel during a Zoom interview with an Israeli newspaper two years ago.

Speaking at an intimate reception on Tuesday night, Mogoeng attributed to his Christian faith his refusal to walk back his statement that South Africa has deprived itself of “a wonderful opportunity of being a game-changer in the Israeli-Palestinian situation.”

“Love is about obeying the commands of God,” Mogoeng said. “In Genesis 12, verses 1-4, it is clear regarding the attitude that committed children of God should have toward Israel and the descendants of Abraham. Unless I no longer wanted to be a Christian, there was no way in which I could bow down to this pressure” to retract the comments.

Mogoeng and his wife are on their first-ever pilgramage to Israel. On Wednesday, he will receive the ICEJ’s Nehemiah Award in recognition of his “strong stand for Israel and the Jewish people on biblical grounds,” according to the organization.

Gaza border communities an inspiration

Mogoeng was joined Tuesday night at the Feast by other notables such as Andrew Brunson, the American pastor who was held for two years in a Turkish prison on false charges of terrorism, and two Iranian-born singers who performed Christian songs in Persian and Hebrew.

Buhler said that he hoped the upcoming visit to Gaza border communities would provide perspective and encouragement to Feast participants from Europe, in particular, where a war is raging in Ukraine and inflation is skyrocketing.

He said that on a tour of these Israeli towns and villages a few weeks ago, “I saw the resilience and entrepreneurial spirit they have. They are not afraid of the rockets, and they want to turn their communities into the best in Israel. And their numbers are growing…. We especially want our Christian pilgrims to witness the incredible positive spirit emanating from these Israeli communities despite all they face.

“There is a crisis in Europe and really all over the world,” Buhler continued. “Don’t let these crises rail you down. Look at what the people of the border communities are doing and take that message back to your country.”

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Star of ‘Wonder Woman’ films surprises a group of Israeli kids in southern Israel with visit to Gaza border town.

By JNS

Israeli actress Gal Gadot paid a visit to the southern Israeli town of Netiv HaAsara on Wednesday, surprising a group of youngsters there.

וונדר וומן בעוטף עזה
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גל גדות הפתיעה את תושבי העוטף וקפצה לביקור במושב נתיב העשרה שעל גבול הרצועה pic.twitter.com/stfJN1JYdm

— almog boker (@bokeralmog) August 24, 2022

Netiv HaAsara is one of the closest Israeli towns to the border with the Gaza Strip and was on the front lines during the hostilities earlier this month between the Israeli military and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Gadot, who frequently speaks out in support of Israel’s soldiers, had been chastised on Israeli social media for not condemning the rocket attacks launched towards Israeli population centers from Aug. 5 to 7, reported i24News

The star of the “Wonder Woman” DC Comics series, who has spent much of the year in London working on two new film projects, was among the many Israelis who had to take shelter from the more than 1,100 rockets launched by the terror group.

She was pictured on Aug. 7 in a bomb shelter on Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv, where she sought safety with her children following a Red Alert.

The post ‘Wonder Woman’ visits Israeli children in Gaza border town rocked by missile attacks appeared first on World Israel News.

“Terror will not take my home away,” says Adele Raemer, who lives in Kibbutz Nirim, near Israel’s border with Gaza.

The post WATCH: What’s It Like Living Near Gaza Border When Rockets are Falling appeared first on World Israel News.

Israel remains on a high state of alert for attacks by Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The terror group has vowed revenge after the IDF arrested its top leader in Judea and Samaria on Monday night. Former head of the Israeli Counter-Terrorism Bureau Brig.-Gen. (res.) Nitzan Nuriel discusses the security situation with Gaza.

The post WATCH: How will Israel respond if Islamic Jihad attacks? appeared first on World Israel News.

The number of workers passing from Gaza into Israel is growing, and Israeli authorities believe this is what has kept the border area quiet.

The post WATCH: Israeli work permits from Gaza at highest level since Hamas takeover appeared first on World Israel News.

Rocket may have been retaliation for three terrorists killed in Jenin shootout.

By David Hellerman, World Israel News

The IDF struck a number of Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip on Saturday morning after Palestinians launched a rocket in the direction of Ashkelon.

The launch  — around 3:00 A.M. — marked the first Palestinian rocket fire at Israel since April. The rocket was intercepted by the Iron Dome. Warning sirens were sounded in a number of Israeli agricultural communities near the border.

None of the Gaza terror groups claimed responsibility for the launch.

The IDF opted to wait till daylight to launch retaliatory strikes. According to the IDF, strikes hit a weapons production facility in central Gaza and three Hamas observation posts along the border.

Hamas quickly returned to one of the damaged border posts, opposite Kibbutz Netiv Ha’asara and hoisted a flag. Residents of the kibbutz were angered that the post wasn’t completely destroyed.

Later on Saturday, the kibbutz was targeted with machine gun fire from the Strip. No Israelis were injured, but one bullet entered a home causing some damage.

As a result of the rocket fire, Israel suspended plans to increase the number of work permits for Palestinians in Gaza. Israeli authorities announced on Thursday that 2,000 additional licenses would be made available for Palestinians seeking work in Israel.

Walla News reported that the rocket may have been fired by Palestinian Islamic Jihad after three of its gunmen were killed in a shootout with IDF forces in Jenin on Friday. An IDF reconnaissance unit operating in Jenin were attacked by gunmen firing guns and throwing explosives from a car.

Eight other Palestinians were injured during the shootout. There were no IDF casualties.

Palestinian media identified the three as Baraa Lahlouh, Laith Abu Srour and Yousef Salah and coverage included photos of all three posing with rifles. Lahlouh was said to be a member of Hamas but the affiliations of the other two weren’t clear.

Also on Friday, an IDF observation balloon crashed down in the Gaza town of Beit Hanoun.

The IDF said the balloon became detached from an anchor while Hamas said it was shot down by machine gun fire. Hamas claimed it captured the balloon along with its cameras and sensors while the IDF said it wasn’t concerned about any technology falling into Palestinian hands.

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