back in the devastated kibbutz of Nir Oz, residents struggle to “drive away the smell of death”

From the shattered bay window of the living room, thick black smoke is visible on the horizon. The Gaza Strip, less than two kilometers away, continues to be shelled relentlessly by the Israeli army. On this side of the border, the survivors of the Nir Oz kibbutz pay little attention to this war, which is so close. In their gardens, they still collect the debris of another attack. On October 7, 2023, around a hundred Hamas terrorists burst in at first light to commit one of the worst massacres suffered by Israel.

“They stayed for about eight hours, until the army got here”says Nathan, 86 years old, co-founder of this fortified village, where the community “shares almost everything”. Armed with assault rifles, rocket launchers and grenades, the commandos killed 46 people and left with 71 hostages. In total, a quarter of the kibbutz residents either lost their lives or were kidnapped. The majority of captives were released in November, but 28 men, women and children remain in Hamas hands in Gaza.

On the morning of October 7, Nathan surely escaped the worst. “I heard the rocket warning sirens, but I wasn’t too worried, we’re used to it”, confides the old man with an impassive face. It was only after seeing armed silhouettes “through the kitchen screen” that he rushed to his “mamad” – the armored room that equips every home on the kibbutz. No one tried to force his front door, nor his secure shelter.

When it is pointed out to him that he was lucky, he raises his eyebrows.“It was you who said it”retorts the last inhabitant of “the street of hostages. In front of him, six houses remain desperately empty. The terrorists kidnapped all their occupants. On each of the doors, photos of the missing were pasted, accompanied by messages of support.

Dropper returns

Nathan walks briskly up the tree-lined paths. He points out the decorations and wildflowers as well as the rocket craters and bullet holes on the facades. “Before, it was a paradise here”, he sighs. He organizes more and more visits to his ravaged kibbutz – He is not the only one.

In the alleys, relatives of victims or hostages advance in small groups. Under good escort, foreign diplomats came to see the extent of the damage. There are only a handful of residents who have set foot in the community again. They often only spend two or three nights a week there.

“How do you expect them to imagine resettling right away?Nathan asks. Who would want to live next to the ruins, when security has not returned?” The Israeli army has not yet given the green light for everyone to return. Not far from there, explosions are heard almost every ten minutes. Sometimes the dull roar of artillery fire is so powerful that it shakes intact doors and windows.

In the center of the kibbutz, on the walls of the home for the elderly, the attackers of October 7 left a sky blue graffiti in Arabic, which calls for the liberation of Palestine. Nathan is torn between the interest in showing it as proof and the desire to see it disappear.

“For me, we must demolish all the affected buildings, erect a monument somewhere, and rebuild real living spaces.”

Nathan, resident of Kibbutz Nir Oz

at franceinfo

At the bend of a small street, a couple climbs through the broken door of a house of which only walls eaten away by the flames remain. On February 1, Efrat, 47, came to light a candle which she placed in a corner. “It’s my mom’s birthday.”, she explains, standing in the middle of what was previously her room. Shifra, his mother, was killed in the attack, as was his father, Yossi, who lived elsewhere in the kibbutz. They were 71 and 75 years old.

At his feet, Efrat stares at the rusty springs of a mattress that has gone up in smoke. As she leaves the house, she almost trips over the grille of a fan. “There’s really nothing left.”notes the woman who left the village at 22 to become a bus driver in Tel Aviv.

“You’ll find it strange, but it’s relaxing to be here. Even though everything burned down, it’s important for me to come back.”

Efrat, originally from the Nir Oz kibbutz

at franceinfo

On her black T-shirt, she wears the portrait of one kidnapped from Nir Oz, Elad Katzir, still detained in Gaza. As for his mother’s house, Efrat has no plans. “If the kibbutz wants to raze it, let them do it, she confides. It’s important to move forward, to chase away the smell of death. Although I know it’s still too difficult for many people.”

Daily life remained frozen on the day of the massacre

In Nir Oz, the atmosphere remains heavy and sticky. In the burned houses, we can no longer see anything, apart from the carcasses of refrigerators or melted plastic chairs. On the facade of the Kalderons, a Franco-Israeli family, a tag informs of the passage of the “Al-Qassam Brigade”, the armed wing of Hamas. The two children from the home, Erez and Sahar, were kidnapped and then released. But their father, Ofer, is still captive.

At the home of the Yahalomis, other Franco-Israelis, skipping ropes are lying around on the terrace. A banner planted in the lawn calls for the release of Ohad, the father, hostage for more than 120 days. In the living room, several bullets were embedded in the walls. At the front, seventeen shots pierced the gray shutters.

Everywhere, broken windows reveal a glimpse of ransacked interiors. And time seems to have stopped on the day of the massacre. Under the porch of a house, two baskets of dirty laundry are still waiting for their turn in front of a washing machine with a half-open door. In another home with a collapsed roof, empty boxes were left loose on the parental bed.

Along the kibbutz fence, topped with barbed wire, a row of completely charred containers is being cleaned. A few dozen meters away, the facade of a house seems on the verge of collapsing. According to survivors, it was blown away when a rocket launcher pulverized the front door.

To force residents out of their secure rooms, terrorists often set fires of such violence that archaeologists were commissioned to identify possible human remains among the ashes.

“Only young people can take on this challenge”

Not far away, the sound of adhesive tape escapes from another house: families are packing what can still be packed, before taking the boxes away from the kibbutz. They come across volunteers on their way, more and more of them mobilizing for the village.

Surrounded by two friends, Dana, 19, returns to Nir Oz for the first time. She also escaped the attack by chance. Arriving at the end of summer 2023 in the kibbutz for her national service (a civic commitment), she left to see her family on the weekend of October 7. “Just thinking about it sends shivers down your spine”she blurted.

“I had seen images on television, but it’s much worse in real life. Since I came back this morning, it’s like I’m being shaken from the inside.”

Dana, volunteer based in Nir Oz

at franceinfo

Before touring the village, the three volunteers first wanted to see the rooms where they lived until “Black Saturday”. “We thought we would recover some things, but everything burned,” they whisper. The shock not really digested, Dana still says she only has one question in mind: “How can we make ourselves useful to the community again?”

For Arad, another volunteer, the work has already started a few weeks ago. “I take care of the dairy cows in the stable, there are more than six hundred of them”, says the 23-year-old young man. During the attack, the terrorists did not go as far as the farm, which is only a five-minute drive away. But those who were not working that day were all killed.

Originally from northern Israel, Arad spent a month in Gaza this fall as a reservist before settling in Nir Oz. “When I arrived, I lost my temper!he admits. And there are still a lot of places I avoid going.” For example, in front of the house of the Bibas couple, kidnapped with their two children, Ariel (4 years old) and Kfir (9 months), whose photos are displayed on the porch.

Faced with the lack of manpower, Arad accepts days “from 2 or 3 p.m.” in the stable. “Because of the war, the foreign workers all left, he explains. It’s a physical job, difficult, but it must be done. Only young people can take on this challenge.” But when it comes time to rest, the nights are sometimes too short, “because of the sirens” and sounds of explosions, he says.

“We must not live in fear, it is useless”, sweeps away the young agricultural worker, who still has two months of volunteering ahead of him in Nir Oz, before being mobilized again as a reservist. This time he must be sent to the West Bank. The mission promises to be tense, but don’t worry him more than that. “I just hope I get replaced here.”he slips.