Government directorate budgets NIS 180 million to rebuild devastated Kfar Aza
Plan led by kibbutz members would rehabilitate 360 residential buildings, 40 public ones, and infrastructure damaged during Hamas rampage last year
Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter
The Tekuma Directorate, tasked with rehabilitating the Gaza border communities devastated by the Hamas terror attack on October 7 last year, announced the approval Monday of NIS 180 million ($48 million) to rebuild Kibbutz Kfar Aza, one of the worst hit communities.
The plan, led by kibbutz members who are moving to temporary accommodation in Kibbutz Ruhama, in southern Israel, will see the rehabilitation of around 360 residential buildings, 40 public buildings, and infrastructure damaged by Hamas rockets and gunfire.
It will include the construction of a new neighborhood with 55 single-family homes, a 60-unit complex for young people away from the young people’s area that was badly damaged in the attack, and new public facilities.
According to the Tekuma Directorate, roads and parking lots will be paved, open space will undergo landscape development, and sports and recreation facilities will be upgraded.
Kfar Aza lost 62 people in brutal circumstances, and an additional two escaped their kidnappers in Gaza, only to be shot dead mistakenly by Israeli troops in December.
Nineteen people were taken hostage, including a Thai worker. Of these, 11 returned, Yotam Haim and Alon Shamriz were killed, and five people, including two women, are believed to still be held by Hamas.
Monday also saw the first discussion between the directorate and Kibbutz Nir Oz about a rehabilitation plan for that community.
One in four of the Nir Oz’s roughly 400 residents were either killed or abducted on October 7, 2023, as terrorists torched and blew up many of the manicured community’s homes and structures.
One of the issues raised during the meeting was how best to memorialize the murdered.
