In the six months since the devastating Hamas attack on Israel’s southern region, 70% of the affected population has returned to their homes, with only a handful of locales remaining uninhabitable, the Israeli government said Sunday.

The Tekuma Authority, responsible for rehabilitating the south, reports that at least 40,150 residents, including 23,000 from Sderot, are living in their municipalities within 7 kilometers of the border. However, 13 locales are still too damaged or risky to be resettled.

Tekuma has spent approximately NIS 2.25 billion ($600 million) of its NIS 18 billion ($4.7 billion) budget for rehabilitation efforts over the next five years. Remaining evacuees are living in state-funded accommodations, including hotels and communities.

Additionally, around 60,000 evacuees from the north, near the Lebanon border, are living in similar conditions. While significant progress has been made, continued efforts are needed to fully rehabilitate the affected areas.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)