For nearly seven decades, the Nir Oz kibbutz was an oasis rich in nature, with chirping birds, beautiful botanic gardens and juicy pomegranates. More than 400 Israelis — many of them liberal peace activists — lived there in a joyous, tight-knit community. But the paradise, less than a mile from the Gaza border, was shattered on October 7.
By some accounts, as many as 700 terrorists, including Hamas Nukhba forces, brutally attacked the kibbutz. They killed or kidnapped 117 residents and destroyed 60% of the homes. What remains is a heartbreaking memorial, a gut-wrenching crime scene and a vision of pure evil.
Every aspect of human life has stopped.The air is thick with the smell of death and destruction — an acrid, charred odor that conjures the stench in New York City after 9/11. People are welcome to experience it for themselves — a new iteration of “terror tourism” that lets shellshocked visitors bear witness.
They can weave in and out of modest, single story burnt-out homes, walk on crunched shards of glass, open refrigerators filled with trays of burnt eggs and see a laundry basket filled with barely recognizable, toddler-sized fairy princess dresses. “The paradise we called home turned into hell on earth in just a few hours,” reads a grim visitor brochure from the kibbutz. Irit Lahav, a 57-year-old jewelry designer who lived at the kibbutz, leads journalists through the most intimate parts of people’s homes.
She and her adult daughter miraculously survi.
