JERUSALEM: Israeli on Monday lifted the state of emergency for areas near the border with Gaza for the first time since the Oct 2023 escalation, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended Tel Aviv’s post-truce bombardment of Gaza as “self-defence”.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that he had decided to adopt the (Israeli military’s) recommendation and to lift, for the first time since Oct 7, the special state on the home front.

The decision “reflects the new security reality in the south of the country” and came as a ceasefire that began on October 10 largely continued to hold, a statement from his office said.

The order had granted sweeping powers to Israeli authorities as it launched a massive military campaign that devastated Gaza and killed tens of thousands of Palestinians after Oct 7 escalation. The announcement might bring a respite to Gaza’s exhausted population after years of bombardment and siege that left entire neighbourhoods in ruins.

The state of emergency, initially imposed up to 80 kilometres from Gaza, was also extended nationwide in June after Israeli strikes on Iran triggered retaliatory missile launches.

Meanwhile, the US on Monday gave its full backing to an Israeli strike in Gaza, with the secretary of state dismissing the attack as an act of “self-defence” and undermining the fragile, internationally-brokered ceasefire.

Israel said it struck a member of the Islamic Jihad group on Saturday, accusing the individual of planning to attack Israeli troops, however, the group denied it was planning an attack.

Published in Dawn, October 28th, 2025