Displaced Nir Oz massacre survivors to get temporary housing in Kiryat Gat
Cnaan Lidor is The Times of Israel's Jewish World reporter
Evacuated residents of Kibbutz Nir Oz are expected to move temporarily into a housing complex in Kiryat Gat next week, the government authority responsible for the evacuees’ resettlement says in a statement.
The expected move follows the finalization and signing today of a three-way agreement between kibbutz representatives, the Housing Ministry, and the Tekuma Authority — which the government set up to rehabilitate the Gaza border area.
The agreement means that the survivors of Nir Oz, one of the hardest-hit communities in the October 7 deadly incursion into Israel by Hamas, will live rent-free in 140 apartments in housing complexes in the Karmei Gat neighborhood of Kiryat Gat, a city situated some 50 milometers (30 miles) northeast of Nir Oz that is experiencing a population boom.
Each of Nir Oz’s households is eligible to an NIS 80,000 adjustment grant ($22,000) on top of a monthly stipend of NIS 1,173 ($325) for each kibbutz member, the statement says. Nir Oz’s residents, who are currently staying in Eilat, will live in Kiryat Gat until damages to their kibbutz are repaired and it is deemed safe to return.
The ministry and its Amidar housing company will allocate additional space and facilities for specific kibbutz institutions, including the dining hall; youth clubs; senior citizens’ club and clinic, in addition to a kindergarten, the Tekuma Authority says in a statement.
This is meant to “provide the kibbutz community with the highest possible sense of convenience and belonging,” the statement says.
Nir Oz was invaded by terrorists and ravaged on October 7, with at least 38 residents killed and at least 78 kidnapped to Gaza out of a population of 400.
