Customers from all over Israel came to support businesses in the southern region

Customers from all over the country came to support businesses in the southern region after the ceasefire after 11 days of fighting. They did shopping to sit in containers in the city, and so people had to wait in long minutes until a table became available for them. In Ashkelon, too, the cafes were filled with people today, and in Roja's coffee, the parliaments returned. "We are returning to life in Ashkelon, everything is full, after two difficult weeks."
"We waited patiently for the operation to end," says Herzl Gabriel, who arrived with his family from Tel Aviv. "We came to support the business owners and also came to enjoy. They are very happy to receive us." Sharon Ben Porat, who also came with her family, came to the city for the same reasons. "We came to strengthen the residents of Sderot and the business owners here. After what they went through, it was important for us to come and support."
Even in the city that is considered the trading capital of the south, Netivot, the cafes were full. Yossi Levy, aroma franchisee in the city, welcomes the return of customers at the end of the round of fighting. "People are returning to the south after the escalation," he says, "feeling an awakening: people are coming from the center and from all over the country to pardon and support businesses in the south."
Adi Rosen, a culinary tour guide in the western Negev region and a resident of Netiv HaAsara herself, came on a tour of the city with a group of women from Yavne. "Right now they are coming to the south to strengthen business," she explains. "People insist on coming from all over the country and they understand that there are a lot of restaurants, cafes and culinary experiences in this area. Tours are the ultimate way to show it. They are in love with places. They understand that there are good things here despite the security difficulty."
Two of the participants in the tour, Adi Tovim and Ravit Vardi, made it clear that their main goal was to support the businesses of the area's residents. "There are a lot of very tasty places," they confirm Rosen's remarks. "We are on a third tour of Netivot, and if it is possible to help businesses we are coming south for that."
In the magnificent Ricky Center complex in Netivot, the recovery is being felt, and the business owners of the place are inviting the public to come. One of them, Rafael Levy, admits that "still a little weak, people may be a little apprehensive." "In the last two or three days, there has been a partial awakening," he said. He called on the residents of the center "to come and see the most beautiful compound there is in the south."
Even the people at the bicycle shop in Kibbutz Bari still feel that not all the hikers and cyclists have returned. Yaakov Schwartz from the Revava settlement in Samaria arrived there today with his family. "In the operation, I invited my friends in the south to Samaria, and then we realized it was happening all over the country. Now it's quiet here, we're a little scared, we do not know what will happen here, whether they decide to shoot here or not, we are here because it is ours."