The new head of the Tekuma Directorate, Aviad Friedman, is meeting members of Kibbutz Nir Oz to try to find a way around a shortfall in state funds for post-October 7 rehabilitation, says the directorate, which is overseeing the rebuilding of communities in Israel’s south.
The kibbutz was largely destroyed on October 7, 2023 — terrorists entered all but six of some 100 homes in the small community — and Nir Oz says that the extreme damage wrought on October 7 means that it has extreme needs, including in mental health and education.
However, due to a funding shortfall of NIS 200 million ($53.8 million) between what the kibbutz says it needs and what the Tekuma Directorate says it can provide, Nir Oz is the only community not to have an approved rehabilitation plan.
In the meantime, it has been funding its rehabilitation itself.
Much of the kibbutz remains destroyed and surviving members of Nir Oz are currently living in the Karmei Gat neighborhood of Kiryat Gat.
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From the Liveblog of
Monday, March 24, 2025
