One year after destruction of Kfar Aza, residents wonder when – or if – they’ll be ready to return home
One year after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, displaced residents of Kfar Aza are wondering when they will return to their kibbutz, if ever.
Kfar Aza is a kibbutz on Israel’s southern border with Gaza. It is one of several communities that was infiltrated by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7 of last year. The residents of the kibbutzim were evacuated to other parts of Israel within days after the attack.
“How can I trust the government who abandoned me here, who betrayed me, promised me that my family was safe here?” Liora Eilon told The Times of Israel, speaking to several of the residents.
Liora’s son Tal was killed by Hamas terrorists during the brutal invasion and massacre.
“The government wants us to go back to Kfar Aza, but I need more to feel safe,” she said.
Despite her son being murdered by Hamas terrorists, Liora said she wants peace with Palestinians.
She said she has continued “dreaming for the day with an open fence from here to the sea, with two people living together.”
While Liora hopes to return home, Kfar Aza resident Zohar Schpack admitted he wasn’t so sure about the future of the kibbutz.
Schpack has already returned but expressed doubts about the prospects of living long-term in a place where such atrocities unfolded.
“Are we going to live inside a memorial? Are we going to see a plaque every few meters; 'he was killed here and he was killed here?' I don’t know yet.”
Simona Steinbrecher, whose daughter Doron is still being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, said she is unready to move back to Kfar Aza.
Dozens of residents were killed that day by Hamas, and Doron was one of several who were taken hostage.
“Without Doron, it’s still the seventh of October,” Simona stated. “And we won’t go home until she’s home.”
According to the report from The Times of Israel, “only about 50 of Kfar Aza’s 1,000 residents have returned.”
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
