Survivors and family members of the victims of the deadly Hamas invasion on October 7, 2023, gathered at communities along the Gaza border Monday for ceremonies marking the second anniversary of the massacre, with speaker after speaker expressing incredulity that hostages were still being held in the coastal enclave two years after they were taken captive in the brutal assault.
The ceremonies came as delegations from Israel and Hamas prepared to start negotiations in Egypt on Washington’s plan to end the war in the Gaza Strip and free all 48 remaining hostages, at least 20 of them believed to be alive.
Members of Kibbutz Nir Oz visited their former home in the largely destroyed community to mark two years since the October 7 attack.
Arriving in a convoy from Kiryat Gat, where the community has relocated temporarily, they gathered at the community’s cemetery.
Sagui Dekel-Chen, who was released from Gaza in February, as a previous ceasefire deal, said that it was his first visit to the cemetery since being freed, but that he had visited it in his imagination while held in Gaza “without knowing who the names are, without knowing how small some of the coffins are.”
“Somehow, in a dizzying way, I survived, I am above all this, but not after all this,” he added through tears.
The kibbutz was largely destroyed on October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists entered all but six of over 200 homes in the small community and either murdered or kidnapped one of every four residents — 117 people out of some 400.
Of those abducted, nine are still being held in Gaza, of whom five are believed still to be alive — David and Ariel Cunio, Matan Zangauker, Omri Miran, and Eitan Horn. The convoy carried pictures of the nine.
Dafna Margalit, widow of Eliyahu Margalit, who was murdered in Nir Oz on October 7 and his body abducted to Gaza, said her return to “God’s little plot in Nir Oz” would be a “return to life.” However, real rebuilding would only come when her husband and the other hostages were returned, she added.
Nir Oz is being renovated and rebuilt, with the first cohort of residents expected to move into the so-called Pioneers’ neighborhood in December.
At Kibbutz Be’eri, many of the speakers were relatives of some of the 102 members whom Hamas murdered — around one in ten residents.
Ben Suchman, CEO of the kibbutz’s storied printing house, who lost his mother Tami, read a poem he had penned. Ran Weiss and Michal Finian Weiss sang “The wheat will grow again” in memory of Mati and Amir Weiss.
Elad Keidar, who lost his parents, Sami and Ofra Keidar, also gave a reading. Sami was murdered in the kibbutz. Ofra’s body was abducted to Gaza and was retrieved in June by IDF troops, along with the remains of another Be’er Sheva member, Ilan Weiss.
Ofer Gitai, community manager, said at the ceremony, “Even today, the heart refuses to believe that there are still hostages in the Gaza Strip. This word ‘hostages’ — the mind cannot comprehend how many times it has been repeated over the last two years…. We have become missing people – missing you, missing parts of ourselves, missing the joy that was so easy just the night before, missing the people who will no longer be.”
Thirty Be’eri residents were abducted to the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023. Hamas still holds four bodies — those of Yossi Sharabi, Manny Godard, Sahar Baruch, and Dror Or.
An additional 24 members of the security forces fell trying to liberate the kibbutz on that day.
Two years after the large-scale destruction there, some 750 residents are still living in temporary accommodation in Kibbutz Hatzerim. Approximately 100 have returned to Be’eri, and around 250 remain scattered throughout the country as the kibbutz undergoes extensive renovation and rebuilding, which is scheduled for completion next July.
Members of Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak lit memorial candles, screened videos of the fallen, and shared memories at their ceremony marking two years since the Hamas incursion.
Singer Dana Berger performed, with one of the songs dedicated to the widow of Tal Haimi, murdered on October 7. His body is believed to be held by terrorists in the Gaza Strip, along with that of Lior Rudaeff.
Zamir Haimi, Tal Haim’s uncle, said the entire Nir Yitzhak family missed the eight kibbutz members who were slaughtered on October 7, 2023.
“The memories remain. The longing remains,” he went on. “A huge, bleeding wound remains in the heart and soul. A huge wound that will never heal.”
Over 80% of kibbutz residents have returned to Nir Yitzhak, and seven new families have expressed interest in joining.