Defense minister visit to Nahal Oz nixed; residents furious

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon visited several southern communities today and was set to make an appearance at Kibbutz Nahal Oz, where four-year-old Daniel Tragerman was killed yesterday by a mortar shell, but the visit was nixed because of the heavy rocket fire, prompting the ire of the residents.

Nahal Oz residents interviewed by Channel 10 expressed their frustration with the cancelation, asking why the government and the military told them it was safe to return to their homes earlier this month when it was too dangerous even for the defense minister.

Channel 10 reports that Ya’alon’s security detail forbade the visit following the barrages fired from Gaza into the communities bordering the Palestinian enclave all afternoon.

The Nahal Oz kibbutz dining hall was also hit by mortar fire this morning, Army Radio reports.

Of the nearly 360 ​​members of Nahal Oz, only about 90 people, almost all of them kibbutz employees, remained, while the rest took refuge further north.