
Ahead of the start of the impending ceasefire-prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas, the IDF has recently begun constructing walls in the Gaza border communities, due to concerns of antitank missile fire, Channel 12 News reported.
According to the report, the construction is being carried out in the Sderot area, and the walls are tall and made of stone. Residents of the area are fuming due to the discrepancy between the construction on the ground and the promises the defense echelon made that the security situation in southern Israel would not go back to what it had been prior to the massacre.
One man, a resident of a border town who lost his son in the October 7 massacre, said, "The moment I saw the wall, I understood that nothing had changed and nothing will change here. We have gone back to October 6, and that is a very hard feeling. If we are building walls, the security situation has not changed. We are continuing to protect ourselves as if nothing has happened. They neglected us and they are neglecting us now."
A woman who lives in the area added, "I feel like we have come back to the same point. After the October 7 massacre, the military promised us that we would not need walls and we would not need to protect ourselves anymore, that we would be able to somehow live here in peace. It was all a bluff - we have returned to the walls and the threat that was here before."
An IDF spokesperson responded: "The IDF works in a variety of ways in order to allow the return of the train [line to Sderot], among them military actions which are appropriate and ongoing situational assessments. This is due to an understanding that this is an important strategic national infrastructure, and a central point in the rebuilding of the western Negev. At this time, defensive construction work is ongoing, in order to strengthen the layer of protection in a way that will allow safe travel on the train. The IDF is working and will continue to work to allow residents to return to their homes, safely."