JERUSALEM

The Israeli army sealed off several areas bordering the Gaza Strip on Monday and banned entry without prior permission.

A military statement said the move was made following an assessment of the security situation, but no further details were given.

The military order restricts access to certain areas near the Palestinian enclave, but does not specify a date for the lifting of the ban.

According to Israel’s Channel 12, the decision is intended to prevent far-right Israelis from entering areas in southern Israel near the Gaza border. These groups have called for a march to the Netzarim crossing in central Gaza on Tuesday to announce the establishment of a settlement in the area.

Israeli settlers are fundamentally prohibited from entering any part of the Gaza Strip.

For months, there have been increasing calls in Israel, including from Israeli government ministers, to restore the illegal settlements in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005 after occupying the area since 1967.

Israel is ignoring a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire and is facing international criticism for its ongoing brutal offensive on Gaza since the attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on October 7, 2023.

According to local health authorities, nearly 39,900 people, mostly women and children, have since been killed in the Israeli attack, and more than 92,000 others have been injured.

More than ten months after the start of the Israeli attack, large parts of the Gaza Strip lie in ruins and there is a crippling blockade on the supply of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the ICJ has ordered Israel to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before the May 6 invasion.

*Written by Mohammad Sio

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