From the Liveblog of
Monday, November 11, 2024
Kibbutz Nir Oz votes to rebuild after Oct. 7 destruction, hoping members’ return will be ‘the real victory’
Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
Members of Kibbutz Nir Oz overwhelmingly vote to rebuild the southern community, which was destroyed in the Hamas terrorist attack of October 7, 2023.
The community says it believes that the reconstruction of Nir Oz and the return of its members will be “the real, meaningful victory.”
Most of the families in Kibbutz Nir Oz have not returned home yet. The small kibbutz was one of the hardest-hit of the southern communities on October 7: 117 of its 400 residents were either killed or kidnapped. There are still 29 hostages from Nir Oz held captive in Gaza.
Only seven out of 220 homes in Nir Oz were untouched by the violence of October 7.
The kibbutz also calls for the government to take responsibility and to do everything in its power to return the hostages still in captivity, as the members considered those who would not be able to return to live on the kibbutz, given the trauma they experienced on October 7.
In the letter the kibbutz is sending to the government, the members emphasize their expectation for large-scale, generous construction, out of a desire for the community’s resurrection.
