Highway 25 (Israel)

Highway 25 runs from Ha'Arava Junction — where it meets Highway 90 and routes toward Eilat connect — westward through Beersheba and onward to the Gaza border near Kibbutz Nahal Oz.[1][2] Under Israel's national road-numbering system, two-digit numbers from 10 to 99 designate principal roads, while odd numbers generally indicate transverse routes; Highway 25 is accordingly classified as a principal transverse road.[1] It forms part of the southern road network alongside Highways 4, 10, 40, and 90.[1]

Beersheba, located along the highway's central corridor, is a major center of industry, commerce, culture, administration, and services for the Negev.[1] Within the city, Road 25 also provides access toward Hazerim; directions to the Commonwealth War Graves cemetery describe a 2-kilometer stretch from Route 40 to the Hazerim turn.[3]

The construction of Highway 25 affected regional traffic patterns and the early development of Yeruham. Together with the Beersheba–Mitzpe Ramon section of Highway 40, it created a new route to Eilat that made the older Petroleum Road, on which Yeruham had been founded, obsolete.[4] The former Petroleum Road is now designated as Roads 224 and 225, and Yeruham's initial growth was hindered in part by the resulting shift in traffic.[4]

The highway's east–west alignment links the Gaza border area with Ha'Arava Junction through Beersheba, providing a route across the breadth of the Negev.[1][2]

Traffic counts document substantial use on selected sections of Highway 25. The Dimona Junction–Beit Eshel Junction section recorded a weekday average of 24,100 vehicle-equivalents in the counted direction in August 2019, with a maximum hourly volume of 3,498 vehicles.[5] The Gilat Junction–Hagadi Junction section recorded a weekday average of 18,100 vehicle-equivalents in the counted direction in September 2019, with a maximum hourly volume of 3,959 vehicles.[5]

Dimona lies on the main highway corridor between Beersheba and Sedom (Sodom) on the Dead Sea. Modern Dimona was established in 1955 as a residential center for workers of the Dead Sea Works at Sedom, 47 kilometers east by road.[6]

Several significant junctions mark the course of Highway 25. At Ha'Arava Junction, the highway meets Highway 90 and connections toward Eilat diverge.[1] Tzafit Junction links Highway 25 with Highway 258, while Gilat Junction connects it with Highway 241 on the Gaza–Beersheba road.[1] Sara Interchange, where Highway 25 meets Highway 40, is another point at which routes toward Eilat branch off.[1]

Traffic counts were reported for eight sections: Ha'Arava Junction to Dimona Junction, Dimona Junction to Beit Eshel Junction, Olim Junction to HaNasi Junction, HaNasi Junction to Gilat Junction, Gilat Junction to Hagadi Junction, Hagadi Junction to Netivot Junction, Netivot Junction to Sa'ad Junction, and Sa'ad Junction to the Nahal Oz checkpoint.[5] Their listed lengths range from 1.7 kilometers between Hagadi and Netivot Junctions to 35.9 kilometers between Ha'Arava and Dimona Junctions.[5]

The westernmost section of Highway 25, between Sa'ad Junction and Kibbutz Nahal Oz, was closed for five years because of security concerns related to its proximity to the Gaza border.[2] Before the closure, the road served as the main entrance to Nahal Oz.[2] In September 2025, Israel's Tkuma Directorate announced that the section was scheduled to reopen by the end of that month.[2]

A 2018 report stated that plans to expand Route 90 also included widening the section of Highway 25 between Dimona and Beersheba to a two-lane highway.[7] No cost estimate or implementation timetable for the Highway 25 component was provided at that time.[7]