Route 232 (Israel)
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| כביש 232 | ||||
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| Route information | ||||
| Length | 81.4 km (50.6 mi) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end | Kerem Shalom border crossing | |||
| North end | Nitzanim | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | Israel | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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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.
History
[edit]The 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
[edit]| District[12] | Location[13] | km | mi | Name | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern | Near Kerem Shalom | 0 | 0.0 | צומת ליד כרם שלום (Junction near Kerem Shalom) |  Highway 10 | Access road to Kerem Shalom Crossing. Highway 10 is currently military use only. |
| Kerem Shalom | 2.1 | 1.3 | כרם שלום (Kerem Shalom) | Entrance to Kerem Shalom | ||
| Sdei Avraham | 5.5 | 3.4 | צומת אבשלום (Avshalom Junction) |  Road 2211 | ||
| Holit | 6.5 | 4.0 | צומת חולית (Holit Junction) |  Route 240 | ||
| Pri Gan | 7.8 | 4.8 | צומת פרי גן (Pri Gan Junction) |  Road 2200 | ||
| Nir Yitzhak | 8.6 | 5.3 | Entrance to Nir Yitzhak | |||
| Mivtahim | 13.9 | 8.6 | צומת מבטחים (Mivtahim Junction) |  Road 2310 | ||
| Ein HaBesor | 17 | 11 | צומת גבולות (Gvulot Junction) |  Route 222 | ||
| Magen | 20 | 12 | צומת מגן (Magen Junction) | Entrance to Magen | ||
| 22.5 | 14.0 | צומת מעון (Ma'on Junction) |  Route 241 Road 2410 | |||
| Re'im | 30 | 19 | צומת גמה (Gama Junction) |  Route 242 | ||
| 31 | 19 | צומת רעים (Re'im Junction) |  Route 234 | |||
| Be'eri | 37.5 | 23.3 | צומת בארי (Be'eri Junction) | Entrance to Be'eri | ||
| Alumim | 40.5 | 25.2 | צומת עלומים (Alumim Junction) | Entrance to Alumim | ||
| Sa'ad | 43 | 27 | צומת סעד (Sa'ad Junction) |  Highway 25Entrance to Sa'ad | ||
| 43.5 | 27.0 | Highway 25 | ||||
| 44.2 | 27.5 | Entrance to Sa'ad | ||||
| Kfar Aza | 44.5 | 27.7 | צומת כפר עזה (Kfar Aza Junction) | Entrance to Kfar Aza | ||
| Mefalsim | 49.5 | 30.8 | צומת מפלסים (Mefalsim Junction) | Entrance to Mefalsim | ||
| Sha'ar HaNegev | 52 | 32 | צומת שער הנגב (Sha'ar HaNegev Junction) |  Highway 34 | ||
| Sapir Academic College | 53.2 | 33.1 | Access road to Sapir Academic College | |||
| Sderot | 54.6 | 33.9 | Menachem Begin Rd. | |||
| 55.4 | 34.4 | צומת דורות (Dorot Junction) |  Route 334 | |||
| Ibim | 55.7 | 34.6 | צומת איבים (Ibim Junction) | Entrance to Ibim | ||
| Or HaNer | 59 | 37 | צומת אור הנר (Or HaNer Junction) | Entrance to Or HaNer | ||
| Bror Hayil | 59.3 | 36.8 | צומת ברור חיל (Bror Hayil Junction) | Entrance to Bror Hayil | ||
| Heletz | 51 | 32 | צומת חלץ (Heletz Junction) |  Route 352 | ||
| Kokhav Michael | 68.5 | 42.6 | HaTzabar Street | |||
| Sde Yoav | 70.5 | 43.8 | צומת גבעתי (Givati Junction) |  Highway 35 | ||
| Hodaya | 74.5 | 46.3 | צומת הודיה (Hodaya Junction) |  Highway 3 | ||
| Nitzanim | 81.4 | 50.6 | צומת אשכולות (Eshkolot Junction) |  Highway 4 | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ שבתי קפלן (August 6, 1951). "הנגב חוגר כבישים". Al HaMishmar (in Hebrew).
- ^ "כבישים חדשים בנגב". HaTzofe (in Hebrew). January 11, 1955.
- ^ ישעיהו אביעם (October 21, 1959). "ממול סיירו חיילי האו"ם". Maariv (in Hebrew).
- ^ מנחם תלמי [in Hebrew] (September 6, 1968). "הכביש אל פיתחת רפיח". Maariv (in Hebrew).
- ^ מנחם תלמי [in Hebrew] (August 8, 1969). "הנתיב העובר בכרם שלום". Maariv (in Hebrew).
- ^ "200 מיליון לירות יושקעו בפיתוח כבישים בארץ". Davar (in Hebrew). December 19, 1969.
- ^ נילי פרידלנדר [in Hebrew] (October 24, 1986). "אל החוף הדרומי". Maariv (in Hebrew).
- ^ רועי רובינשטיין (October 17, 2019). "התקציב לשדרוג כביש הדמים אזל - עוד שני נוסעים שילמו את המחיר". Ynet (in Hebrew).
- ^ "Once an artery of thriving southern region, Route 232 transformed into road of death". Times of Israel. October 13, 2023. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
- ^ McKernan, Bethan; Kierszenbaum, Quique (October 10, 2023). "'We're focused on maximum damage': ground offensive into Gaza seems imminent". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
- ^ "Supernova festival: How massacre unfolded from verified video and social media". BBC News. October 9, 2023. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
- ^ Survey of Israel (October 31, 2018). "מחוזות משרד הפנים" [Ministry of Interior districts] (Map). Govmap (in Hebrew). Retrieved October 31, 2018.
- ^ Survey of Israel (October 31, 2018). "גבולות ישובים" [Locality borders] (Map). Govmap (in Hebrew). Retrieved October 31, 2018.
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