Remains of the Nir Oz kibbutz are a vision of pure evil

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 survived as terrorists attempted to break into their home for eight hours before help arrived.

“We accepted death and said our goodbye words to each other,” she said as a cool breeze swept across the kibbutz playground, where dozens of kids, including the young Bibas boys, once played.

Ariel Bibas was 4-years-old and brother Kfir was just 9 months when they were taken hostage, along with mother Shiri Bibas

Last week, Kfir, the youngest Israeli taken hostage, celebrated the grim milestone of having lived more of his life as a hostage than as a free boy.

“It’s still hard to accept it happened,” said Dalit Ram Aharon, a longtime Shiri Bibas friend who lived on the kibbutz. “Kfir is the cutest baby I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Ram Aharon was pregnant with her daughter, Oren, at the same time that Shiri Bibas was expecting Ariel. The two were born days apart and were best friends.

“She always asks about Ariel,” said Ram Aharon. “She asks if he’s still in Gaza and if he’s dead or alive.”

The Siman Tovs were another picture-perfect family who called Nir Oz home.

All three of the clan’s young children — Shahar, Arbel and Omer —were killed in a blaze started by terrorists. Standing in their destroyed home is a reminder of how quickly lives were destroyed.

Hamas also methodically burned all 250 cars at the kibbutz, so that residents who weren’t immediately murdered or abducted couldn’t escape. 

While it’s expected that it will take three years before the kibbutz is rebuilt, most residents have no plans to return to the site of unimaginable pain. Many are now living in temporary housing about an hour away in Kiryat Gat.

Survivors lost not just their homes and loved ones but their personal effects.

“It’s mind blowing that one day you find yourself only with your pajamas,” said Lahav, who had all of her possessions, including her life’s work, looted. Others say their belongings have been forever tainted by terror.

While Lahav and her neighbors’ sense of security has been completely shattered, it’s her years devoted to the peace process and humanitarian work with Gazan civilians — “many, many, many” of whom invaded the kibbutz during the attack, she said — that feels like an added blow.

She feels a sense of “deep betrayal” at the hands of the people she falsely sympathized with for years.

“We’ve been fools to believe that Hamas is separate from the people,” said Lahav, who used to regularly meet Palestinians at the border to get them medical treatment in Israel.

But, she no longer believes there are “good, innocent” Palestines who just want to send their children to school and have a peaceful life.

“I realized on that attack that there were women, teenagers and little kids attacking us, robbing everything,” she said.

“My opinion changed completely— I don’t think they’re innocent or want peace as a nation,” she said.

Discovering rapes and seeing mutilated bodies changed her.

“There are heads in someone’s living room over there,” she said, gesturing off into the near distances.

These days, old neighbors and friends know better than to ask one another a simple “How are you?”

“It’s too painful when someone asks,” explained Lahav, who still manages to laugh and smile while describing the indescribable.

The attack was more about “killing, killing, killing” than aspirations for a state, she said. It’s not a “few bad Hamas people” in control, she said, stressing the perpetrators weren’t solely Hamas fighters.

“Palestinians attacked us,” she said.

There’s also a survivor’s guilt.

“We know we’re lucky to be alive,” said Ram Aharon. “We survived, but it’s hard to live with this feeling. That you’re here and they’re there.”

But, both she and Lahav are intent on preserving their humanity.

“Would I still drive them for medical treatment. Yes … Even if it’s the woman who stole my jewelry,” Lahav said with a light laugh. “I want to keep my goodness.”