Israel Defense Forces soldiers stationed in the Gaza Strip should celebrate Purim on the 14th of the month of Adar II, which this year falls out on March 24, Sephardi Chief Rabbi Rav Yitzchok Yosef ruled on Sunday.
Most places celebrate Purim on the 14th, but cities that were surrounded by walls during Yehoshua’s conquest of Eretz Yisroel—primarily Yerushalayim—observe the Yom Tov a day later.
However, halachic uncertainty exists regarding Gaza, Chevron, Shechem, Yaffo, Chaifa, Tzefas, Tiveria, Lod and Acco.
In a lengthy psak published Sunday, Rav Yosef states that IDF soldiers in Gaza should fulfill the mitzvos of Purim, including Megillah and the seudah, on the 14th.
The psak cites Rav Ovadia Yosef, Rav Yitzchok’s father, as noting that Gaza has been given to murderous Hamas terrorists, “the enemies of Yisroel from the sons of Yishmoel.”
“May it be God’s will that he will uproot them [Hamas] and destroy them and make them perish soon in our days and that he will return the children [of Yisroel] to their borders [in Gaza],” concludes the psak.
{Matzav.com Israel / JNS}