Israel on Monday announced the end of the special home-front status in the country’s south, lifting the emergency designation for the first time since Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks.
Defense Minister Israel Katz approved the IDF's recommendation not to extend the “special situation on the home front” — a legal status that grants authorities expanded powers during security emergencies. The measure, in place since the outbreak of the war with Hamas, will expire Tuesday, Oct. 28.
“The decision reflects the new security reality in the south that was achieved thanks to the determined and powerful operations over the past two years by our heroic fighters against the Hamas terrorist organization,” Katz said in a statement.
He added that Israel remains “fully committed to achieving all the defined war objectives — first and foremost, dismantling Hamas’s military capabilities and the demilitarization of Gaza.”
Katz said the government would continue to act “with strength and responsibility to safeguard the security of Israeli citizens within all its borders.”