Gaza Border Region Population Rises Above Pre October 7 Level

Around 66,000 people now live in Israel's Tekuma recovery region near the Gaza border, approximately 5,000 more than before the October 7, 2023 attack, according to new government figures.

The new figures

The Tekuma Directorate published the updated data on September 24, citing Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics.

The government body said the region's population is now approximately 10 percent higher than on the eve of October 7 and that more than 90 percent of evacuated residents have returned to their communities.

The figures provide one measurable indication of demographic recovery in an area that experienced mass displacement following the Hamas led attack.

Community by community

But the regional total should not be interpreted as proof that every community has completed its recovery.

The Tekuma region includes Sderot and communities in the Eshkol, Sha'ar HaNegev, Sdot Negev and Hof Ashkelon regional councils. Conditions and reconstruction timelines vary substantially between individual communities.

The government said four of the last communities awaiting full return are on different schedules. Holit began its return process in late August. Kfar Aza was expected to begin at the end of September. Be'eri is expected to begin returning residents at the end of December and complete the process in July 2027. Reconstruction work in Nir Oz is continuing ahead of a planned return beginning at the end of 2027.

An update, not a first

The latest data are also an update rather than the first indication that the area's total population had passed its prewar level. Earlier government reporting in 2026 already put the population at around 65,000.

The new development is the increase to approximately 66,000 and the latest return figures.

What population figures do not show

Population totals are only one part of recovery. They do not measure the condition of individual homes, employment, trauma treatment, schools, infrastructure or whether residents who returned intend to remain permanently.

Still, population movement is an important indicator of whether communities remain viable after prolonged evacuation.

The latest figures show that the Gaza border region as a whole is not only repopulating but has, according to government data, grown beyond its population immediately before October 7.