After five days of a particularly tense operation, it’s over. Following the IDF situation assessment, it was decided Sunday morning to gradually lift the security restrictions in the Gaza Envelope settlements. As a first step, at 6 AM, restrictions were lifted in the municipalities of Western Negev, Central Negev, Western Lachish, and Lachish. The remaining restrictions on the Gaza Envelope are expected to be lifted by noon, Sunday.
Furthermore, it was decided to open all road blockades in the area surrounding Gaza. Also, the return to normal was not only characterized by the removal of restrictions from the envelope but also from the strip itself, as the coordinator of government operations in the territories, Major General Aliyan, announced the partial and gradual opening of the Erez and Kerem Shalom crossings. In addition, the maritime territory will open to Gazan fishing Sunday morning.
According to the IDF Spokesman, “The full opening of the crossings will be carried out subject to the assessment of the situation. The Erez crossing will open starting at 8:00 AM, and the Kerem Shalom crossing will open starting at 11:00 AM.”
The lifting of restrictions came less than a day after the ceasefire signed Saturday night between Israel and the Islamic Jihad as part of Operation Shield and Arrow, which lasted exactly five days. During the operation, nearly 1,000 rockets from Gaza entered Israeli space, with one of them hitting an apartment in Rehovot and killing 80-year-old Inga Abramian.
Israel offered a harsh response to the rocket fire: IAF fighter jets circled over the Gaza Strip, day and night, and repeatedly bombed military targets of the terrorist organization which, according to reports, suffered a heavy blow this time. In addition to the elimination of six senior Jihad commanders, the Israeli military apparatus believes Jihad gave up all its conditions for a ceasefire––ending the assassinations, returning the body of Jihadist terrorist Khader Adnan who died from a hunger strike, and canceling the Flags Parade in Jerusalem––had to do with Jihad’s inability to continue fighting due to its depleted resources.
