OMM Redaksiyası
Residents of Kibbutz Nir Oz are weighing how to rebuild their community, which was devastated during the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on 7 October 2023.
Birds now nest among the ceiling tiles of the deserted dining hall, once the centre of the close-knit community of about 400 people. Dalit Ram Aharon, who survived the attack with her husband, Achi, and their three children, said residents had gathered there to eat and celebrate holidays. The BBC reported on the community’s recovery and the debate over its future.
Stickers on the household mailboxes mark those killed or taken hostage. “That’s one out of four of us: murdered or kidnapped,” Dalit said, including children and babies.
Nir Oz, about 1.6km from the Gaza border, was among the hardest-hit communities. Forty-one residents and foreign workers were killed, along with six people who had fled to the kibbutz from a nearby party. Seventy-six people from Nir Oz were taken to Gaza, including nine whose bodies were abducted. Fourteen hostages were taken alive and later killed in captivity.
The last living hostages from the kibbutz returned to Israel on 13 October 2025. The remains of the last deceased hostage, Amiram Cooper, were brought back two weeks later.
Many homes damaged by fire have been demolished, leaving rows of reinforced concrete safe rooms. Dalit and Achi say some ruined houses should remain as evidence of what happened. “People should see what happened, should see the destruction, the pure hatred that happened here,” Achi said.
The Israeli military’s investigation found that troops arrived about 40 minutes after the last Palestinian attackers had left. The army had been overwhelmed by simultaneous assaults on more than 20 communities and several military posts, the report said.
Dalit also described the killing of her friend Shiri Bibas and Bibas’s two young sons, Ariel and Kfir, who were taken from their home. Shiri’s husband, Yarden, was released alive in a Gaza ceasefire deal in February 2025. Hamas blamed an Israeli air strike for the deaths of Shiri and the boys; Israeli forensic experts said they were killed by their captors after examining their bodies, which were returned later that month.
About 20 homes have been renovated or rebuilt, and some former hostages have returned, including Gadi Moses and Yair Horn. Many bereaved residents, among them Yarden Bibas, have moved away permanently. The Aharons, who are living in an apartment further north, also intend to return.
“We’ll come back for the memory of Shiri and for the people that didn’t have the chance to live here, and for the memory of my parents, and to continue our roots, and for my children, because this is our home,” Dalit said. Her parents were among the kibbutz’s founders.
Emi Palmor, who directs the rebuilding project, said attackers entered 97% of households and burned almost half of them. Nir Oz is the only place in Israel that must be entirely demolished and replanned, she said. The community is expected to take two years to reopen fully.
Residents disagree over whether damaged buildings should be preserved. Some want the rebuilt kibbutz to feel peaceful and avoid reminders of the attacks; others fear that removing all traces of the destruction would invite denial, Palmor said.
About 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage after an estimated 6,000 Palestinians crossed into southern Israel on 7 October 2023. The subsequent Israel-Hamas war has killed more than 74,200 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, whose overall figures are considered accurate by the United Nations.
Although a US-brokered ceasefire deal brought the remaining hostages home in 2025, violence has continued, including near-daily Israeli attacks on Gaza. Nearly all of Gaza’s 2.1 million residents have been displaced, and much of the territory has been reduced to ruins. US President Donald Trump’s peace plan is at an impasse.
Survivors in Nir Oz continue to raise questions about accountability for the security failure that allowed the attacks. Residents support a comprehensive state commission of inquiry and say they remain concerned about security. The Aharons and others are also dealing with post-traumatic stress.
Dalit recalled that her eldest son, Uri, turned nine on the day of the attacks, while the family was sheltering. “He told me, ‘Mum, I don’t want to die on my birthday,’” she said. “People don’t understand that we still live this horrible day.”
The anniversary is the first since no hostages remain in Gaza. Dalit said their return brought “a very big relief”. Achi said the family could now focus on healing: “Now you have the time to concentrate on yourself, on what you lost, what you need.”
