A stray Israel Defense Forces round fired from the Gaza Strip hit a vehicle Sunday on a civilian road near the Sha'ar HaNegev junction. A young man suffered light injuries from the gunfire, and property damage was reported.
About a week and a half ago, the military announced—following a government decision—the lifting of the “closed military zone” order from the Gaza periphery.
Uri Epstein, the head of the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council, posted about the incident on Facebook and said he had spoken with the regional brigade commander. “Fortunately, the event ended with only one lightly injured person and minor property damage, but we view it very seriously,” he said.
“I demanded to receive the results of the military investigation into the source of the shooting and the lessons learned that will prevent future occurrences,” he added. “I emphasize that there is no change in the IDF’s instructions in the area.”
Get the Ynetnews app on your smartphone: Google Play: https://bit.ly/4eJ37pE | Apple App Store: https://bit.ly/3ZL7iNv
He then referenced the latest government decision, which states that there is no longer any “security impediment” to returning to the border communities.
“The state is not here to forget the consequences of its own decisions. We will not accept endangering residents' lives within the council’s territories. We call upon all security authorities and decision-makers to come onto the ground and personally make sure that the security of our residents remains fully maintained,” he demanded.
About a week and a half ago, the IDF announced the removal of the “closed military zone” order that had affected the communities in the Gaza border area following the October 7 massacre. The military scaled back existing restrictions on the Western Negev settlements, following the government decision stating there is no “security impediment” to returning and resettling the communities.
“All the communities have been removed from the closed military zone. Meaning that, starting from the date this order enters into effect, no Western Negev communities will be defined as closed military zones,” it wrote in a notice to residents.