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Route 232 (Israel)
Route 232 is a rural road in southern Israel. It begins at the Kerem Shalom Crossing at the border with the Gaza Strip, and it passes through the Gaza Envelope, near kibbutzim Re'im, Be'eri, and Kfar Aza, where it meets Highway 25. It continues Northeast to meet Highway 4 near Sderot, before turning northward to terminate on the same road north of Ashkelon. Since the October 7th attack, the road has been given the monicker of the "road of death" within Israel. HistoryThe northern part of the road (from Nitzanim to Nir Am area) was paved during the British Mandate. The road was a major axis for the Negev communities and the control of a number of battles during the Israeli War of Independence. The southern part of the road was paved in 1951 to connect the Western Negev communities: Be'eri, Magen, Re'im, Kissufim, Ein HaShlosha, Nirim and Merhavim Regional Council communities on the road. The road continued in being paved up to Route 241 in the south.[1] In 1954-1955, the road was extended to Nir Yitzhak[2] and in 1959 the road from Nir Yitzhak was extended to Kerem Shalom.[3] After the Six-Day War, the road was paved next to Kerem Shalom Road about 6 miles that connected to the coastal road in Sinai.[4] This road served as the Israeli traffic to Sinai at the end of 1969, following many attacks on Highway 4 in the Gaza Strip to Israeli civilian traffic.[5] As a result, the National Roads Company of Israel expanded the road.[6] In the mid-1980s, Highway 10 was paved as well as a connection from the road, near Sufa, to the Gaza Strip towards Morag and Gush Katif, (the road section was also called the Kissufim road and was part of Route 242),[7] but its use was relatively little because of its remoteness from the population centers in Israel. In July 1991, the continuation of Route 242 was inaugurated from Highway 4 and most of the traffic to Gush Katif moved to Route 232 and from it to Route 242, especially after the Palestinian Authority was established and the transfer of power in the Gaza Strip. After the closure of the Karni crossing and the Erez crossing, all the trucks bearing goods designed for the Gaza Strip were directed to the Kerem Shalom crossing, which created heavy traffic loads on the road and raised protest by the residents of Hevel Eshkol. In 2005-2019, 44 people were killed in road accidents. In 2014 the government decided to expand the road to two lanes, in 2019 construction began and 8.5 kilometers were upgraded.[8] Route 232 played a role in the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel. This road provides access to some of the worst affected communities, with Palestinian gunmen ambushing civilian vehicles fleeing along this route.[9][10][11] Junctions & Interchanges
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