Gaza border towns record population growth since Oct. 7 massacre

(JNS) — The population of Israeli villages along the southern border has grown by 3,000 residents since Oct. 7, 2023, even as five communities are still waiting to return home, a Knesset committee was told on Monday.

Aviad Friedman, head of the Tekuma Authority that is responsible for rebuilding the Gaza border towns destroyed in the Hamas-led Oct. 7 massacre, described the population growth as “an exciting Zionist event” during a hearing at the Knesset State Control Committee.

“The number of residents in the region has grown from some 62,000 on the eve of Oct. 7 to about 65,000 today,” the of...