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Gaza envelope (Hebrew: עוטף עזה, Otef Aza) refers to the region of Israel surrounding the Gaza Strip, to the depth of a few miles, and includes the town of Sderot as well as many Kibbutzim and Moshavim.
Since the Second Intifada, and especially since Israel withdrew unilaterally from all settlements and bases in Gaza in 2005, the communities in the area surrounding the Gaza strip have been suffering from incessant terrorist attacks such as infiltration attempts, mortar shells and Qassam rockets from the Gaza Strip.
In recent years, more remote communities outside the Envelope have become exposed to frequent shelling from Gaza, including Ashkelon, Netivot, Kiryat Gat, Beer Sheva and Ashdod, due to Grad rockets being smuggled into Gaza.
In 2007, after several years of terrorist attacks, the Knesset passed the "Assistance to Sderot and the Western Negev (Temporary Provision) Law, 2007", which recognizes communities that are within 7 km away from the border fence surrounding the Gaza Strip (and additional communities in the area designated by the Minister of Finance's order) as "Confrontation-line Communities" and gives them special privileges (temporarily, until the end of 2008). Additional legislative measures extended the validity of some of the benefits, with certain changes, until the end of 2014.
Gaza Envelope communities
The following communities were included in the list of communities in southern confrontation line area, published by the Israeli Tax Authority: