Gaza residents arrested after pretending to be Israelis, working in South

Three Gaza residents were arrested on Monday after they were found pretending to be Israeli citizens and working in a southern factory, contravening employment laws, Israel Police announced Tuesday morning. 

Police officers from Sderot, along with Border Police officers, conducted searches in the Sha'ar Hanegev Industrial Zone after suspicions arose that in one of the factories, Gaza residents were employed and residing in Israel contrary to the law.

During the police raid on the facility and the subsequent search, three women were identified who initially presented themselves as Israeli residents from the South, but later, it was revealed that they were Gaza residents residing and working in Israel in violation of the law.

The suspects were arrested for further investigation, and at the conclusion of the investigation, they were detained.

A factory official was also detained for questioning and was later released under restrictive conditions.

Gazans unable to work in Israel since start of war

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas War after the October 7 Hamas attacks, thousands of cross-border Gazan workers and laborers in Israel have been sent back to Gaza, and the border crossing was shut.

The daily volume of cross-border traffic came to a standstill after the war as Gazans, some of whom had worked in Israel for years, suddenly found themselves unable to cross the border. 

Some of the Gazan workers returned through the Kerem Shalom crossing east of the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.