Kibbutz Be’eri dental clinic, where 5 people were murdered on Oct. 7, is demolished
Bereaved relatives hold ceremony at site to honor them; wife of security team member calls on government to establish commission of inquiry into massacre
Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter
A dental clinic at Kibbutz Be’eri in which Hamas gunmen murdered five people during their October 7, 2023, massacre was demolished Tuesday in keeping with a decision by residents.
During the Hamas assault, the clinic became an ad hoc triage center where several wounded people were treated by Dr. Daniel Levi and paramedic Amit Mann, who were eventually murdered there along with three members of the kibbutz security team — Eitan Hadad, Shachar Zemach, and Gil Buyum.
Bereaved family members of those who were killed held a ceremony at the destroyed clinic ahead of Tuesday’s demolition.
Haviva Mann said her sister Amit fell in love with the community after moving there and that the site of the clinic held “no less importance” than her grave.
“Here, we feel close to you. On that day, the five people who fell here left their houses in order to protect their homes. They acted according to their conscience, and fought the battle of their lives with great strength — some with weapons and ammunition, and some with bandages and medical gloves — until their last breaths.”
Ofri Zemach, whose husband Shachar was killed defending the clinic, issued a call to the government to establish a state commission of inquiry into the massacre — a move that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has resisted so far.
“We are indeed clearing the rubble, but not to forget. The hostages are still being abandoned every day, suffering and starving. They are still alive. And we still don’t understand how all this happened. It happened here, but without a commission of inquiry, it could happen anywhere else,” she said.
The Tekuma Directorate, tasked by the government with rehabilitating the Gaza border communities, said a building with a kindergarten and an educational innovation center will be constructed on the site, and that a new community health center, including a dental clinic, will be built elsewhere on the kibbutz.
In all, 101 civilians and 31 security personnel were killed in Be’eri — a community of around 1,000 residents — and a further 30 residents and two additional civilians were taken hostage from there by the Hamas terrorists. At least 125 homes in the community were damaged and destroyed amid the fighting.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
