On Route 242, at the exit from Nir Oz north, opposite the IDF jeep, a surreal sight is revealed: thousands of turkeys that escaped from the kibbutz's chicken coops are walking slowly everywhere - on the road, in the yellow fields, under the eucalyptus trees.
The Dimensions of the Disaster at Kibbutz Be'eri // Oren Ben Hakon
"Feast of Sukkot - Feast of the Harvest" is matched in cardboard letters at the entrance. In the kibbutzim that envelop time, Simchat Torah froze in the morning. When will "after the holidays" arrive?
The turkeys forage for food, croak, congregate in a shady area. Dozens of them are already run over on the asphalt. We act cautiously so as not to kill even one of them. But the act is almost absurd. The western Negev, a flourishing and prosperous region, is now a disaster-stricken region.
We went on a silent wander among the sooty houses in Nir Oz, along the ruined paths of Bari, and in the sandstorm that entertains the fabrics of the party even a week after the massacre of the bad guys. After a few hours, the sights permeate and the main insight cries out to the sky: This is what it looks like when the State of Israel abandons its borders.
There is every leader, every commander will know and every citizen will remember. The October 7 war must fortify the borders from our enemies for the next hundred years.
"Informational tours"
At the entrance to Kibbutz Nir Oz, we are met by a reserve battalion commander who has been hosting "information tours" between the farmhouses in recent days. The world must see.
Turkey roaming Route 242. A surreal sight,
Get up, go to the city of killing and you have come to the courts / And with your eyes you will see and with your hand you will feel on the fences / And on the trees and on the stones and on the plaster of the walls / The clotted blood (Haim Nachman Bialik, In the City of Killing, 1903)
Without delay you skip to the first house, in front of it is a parking lot of 8 cars - all destroyed and broken into, some of them graffiti in Arabic. Inside the house, the smell and mirrors do not leave the body with the ability to contain. Some of us are fighters, war veterans, we've seen friends motel, but nothing prepares the soul for the shattered living room, the broken kitchen, the perforated hallway, the open suspense book lying on the double bed after a long Friday reading.
It's a kibbutz house with the aroma of yesteryear - 60 square meters of humanity, desecrated to the fullest. On the wall are pictures from family life, at the entrance the children's kindergarten bags are hung on colorful hangers.
Happiness, childhood, love stained with blood, with signs of hard struggle, of survival. Opposite the children's rooms - a laundry basket with clothes upside down and next to it a play area with dominoes, Monopoly, Lego helicopter. Another children's room is full of blood still soaked in the carpet on the floor.
It is impossible to contain the sights and smells. Nir Oz,
After a few hours, the sights permeate, and the main insight cries out to the sky: This is what it looks like when the State of Israel abandons its borders
And so from house to house, between green lawns and charred houses, feet crushing between the paths of death. The kibbutz pastoralism, the crickets and the grass, these are disturbed only by the sounds of the fighters wandering around every corner.
In front of one of the houses stands a sukkah, broken into the wind. One of the sheets was torn from her, the loop ornaments dropped on another sheet, and right next to her in the corner, a window of the children's room open. A black chair stands under the window. Climbing it reveals a terrifying sight: a bunk bed with all its sheets soaked in blood. Here stood the murderer and slaughtered children.
Passing silently from one house to another. Here is the air-conditioned nursery, which now serves as an organizing place for fighters and the headquarters company.
The blood-soaked bed in Nir Oz, photo: Oren Cohen
One of the senior officers we met in the sector: "I visited all the places imaginable, and I experienced - but such is unimaginable"
"Feast of Sukkot - Feast of the Harvest", matched in cardboard letters at the entrance. In the kibbutzim that envelop time, Simchat Torah froze in the morning. When will "after the holidays" arrive? On one of the chests are placed the children's pacifiers with their names. Opposite are pictures of the children of the class, some of whom were murdered and some of whom were kidnapped.
Terrorists on Toyota ISIS
And from the endless sadness in Nir Oz - to the party site in Reim. This has been the main location of Israel's advocacy around the world over the past week. There is not a single Westerner in the world who can excuse the massacre of one of the symbols of the free, liberal world: a sunrise party of young people.
When we arrive there are black savannas with chkalakas. Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana accompanies European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, who promises to tell the world. The overturned, perforated and burnt vehicles are still scattered within a vast radius. The looting is huge. Next to them is the row of temporary toilets; Here, too, a video killing.
Mignonit at Reim Junction. There was also a video of killing, photo: Oren Cohen
What remains of the peaceful kibbutz, which grew and mighty despite unbearable decades in the envelope, is now reminiscent of scenes from the slaughterhouses of Chechnya and Kosovo.
At the exit from the party complex - the killing road. Here, the terrorists stood on an ISIS Toyota with a .05 machine gun and massacred escapees inside vehicles. Further away - dense shielding. Remnants of burnt Nike shoes, backpacks, tank tops, scattered jeans. Nine young men found a momentary hiding place there until the murderers reached them too.
The People's Army has mended all the cracks
Then we get to Bari. Battalions of journalists and photographers from bulletproof vests, ZAKA volunteers riding the kibbutz's scooters, silently wading pines over houses trampled by tanks, in order to topple them on the terrorists.
What remains of the peaceful kibbutz, which grew and mighty despite unbearable decades in the envelope, is now reminiscent of scenes from the slaughterhouses of Chechnya and Kosovo. No house remained intact, the "coloss" of the rescue tanks, the larvae of armored vehicles, flocked all over the kibbutz paths. Next to them are piles of what used to be vehicles, one on top of the other. Blown water pipes create huge water swamps in lawns. The bodies of terrorists are still lying on the sides of the houses, and flies are sailing between them.
Pacifiers in Nir Oz. Some of the children were kidnapped or murdered, photo: Oren Cohen
Two children were lying in the living room, and in the parents' room they found the father and mother, in a display suggestive of hiding, and probably also of a difficult struggle that ended in the worst.
Amazing people who are engaged in the rescue and treatment of the murdered are walking around here quietly, with determined faces. Suddenly, one of them, a ZAKA volunteer, comes in front of us riding a kibbutz scooter. A strainer mask hangs around his neck, the white sterile uniform already faded and slightly torn.
He tells us that bodies have just been discovered - two children were lying in the living room, and in the parents' room they found the father and mother, in a display that hints at hiding, and probably also a difficult struggle that ended in the worst. No story dulls the senses, but he is determined to continue until he brings the last of the murdered to Israel's burial.
Fifteen bodies were found outside the fence, apparently on the run. But this is already outside his scope. There is enough work within the kibbutz as well.
Perforated door in Gaza village, photo: GettyImages
On Route 242, at the exit from Nir Oz north, opposite the IDF jeep, a surreal sight is revealed: thousands of turkeys that escaped from the kibbutz's chicken coops are walking slowly everywhere - on the road, in the yellow fields, under the eucalyptus trees.
A moment later "Red Alert". We prostrate ourselves under a tree, mortar shells fall and continue. Between the kibbutz paths, fighters from special units hide and ambush every scenario. At the exit, many forces gather. Regulars and reserves. Morale is high, dishes are prepared, treats are handed out, but you don't lose alertness. Warriors of all types and from all units. The People's Army has mended all the cracks. It's here, in the field.
"Something that will accompany me for the rest of my life"
At the gas station on the way to Sa'ed Junction, we stop, take a breather. One of the senior IDF officers we met in the sector opens a café next to the jeep. He is between jobs, in a slight moment of citizenship, and on Saturday morning, when he heard what had happened, he ran to the fire.
He's been in ever since. Saved lives, killed terrorists, cared for fighters. He shares with us a little of what he went through, and mostly regrets that he didn't take enough pictures. Despite the fighting, he had to photograph the ejaculate scenes he saw.
Bodies covered near a building set on fire by terrorists in Kibbutz Be'eri, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
And so from house to house, between green lawns and charred houses, feet crushing between the paths of death.
"The whole world had to see and understand. I've visited every place imaginable, and I've experienced – but this is unimaginable, it's something that will accompany me for the rest of my life," he says.
The sun is already rising, just before Shabbat. We gave up coffee because the wind doesn't allow fire to dominate. But the officer is not confused. He takes us aside, smiles modestly through the little eyes, and promises: "We will defeat them."
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