One of the houses burned and vandalized, Kibbutz Nir Oz / Courtesy of the subjects
Nir Oz was one of the kibbutzim that suffered the worst blow in the terrible massacre that took place on October 7, after about a quarter of the kibbutz members were murdered or kidnapped to the Gaza Strip. Today (Thursday), almost a month after that Black Sabbath, the kibbutz members who survived the massacre sent an open letter to Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, the head of the Southern Command, demanding that he deal with the fighting and the return of the abductees at the moment, and with debriefings and taking responsibility only later.
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Kibbutz Nir Oz after Hamas terror attack, Havrut Magen, October 19, 2023/Reuters
Gen. Finkelman,
the events of the October 27th caused a deep rift in our quiet and peaceful kibbutz community. These days, we accompany on their last journey 74 of our comrades who were murdered in cold blood on this accursed day. <> of our community are abducted or missing, and we wait and hope for their speedy and safe return. Our homes have been looted, broken and burned, and we have nowhere to go back. A quarter of the kibbutz members are defined as abducted or murdered, and about a third of all abductees in Israel are from our families.
Alongside the loss, a sense of abandonment surrounds us. The kibbutz residents locked themselves in safe rooms for more than eight hours, waiting for IDF forces that did not arrive. The questions: Where are they? When will they arrive? Why aren't they helping us? They echo in our heads and give us no rest. The sense of helplessness we were in during those hours gave us a severe sense of loss of faith in the army. From the day the kibbutz was established, we have been educating our children that there is no need to worry about our proximity to the fence – at the moment of truth, the army will fight anyone who tries to harm us and protect us. But that was not the case on October <>.
Out of the great loss and bereavement, and despite the severe crisis of trust and the feeling of abandonment, we are writing this letter to strengthen your hands. People from our community who have met you in the past know that you are a brave, dedicated, sophisticated and pleasant general. We heard your operation order in which you also mentioned the name of our kibbutz and we were very excited. This is the time to fight with determination and courage, in accordance with the values of the army, until quiet returns to our region and we can manage our lives and work our fields with a full sense of security.
This letter was written in order to remove from you and your soldiers any thought about past events and to allow you and your soldiers to focus on returning the hostages alive and fighting until a decision is reached. At the end of the fighting, I am sure that the time will be found to come and meet with members of our community, to answer our difficult questions and to share in our sorrow and pain.
Take care of yourself and our soldiers. Osnat Peri, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kibbutz Nir Oz
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