4 days ago
'This Kibbutz will rise again': Netanyahu visits Nir Oz for first time since Oct. 7
Residents of the kibbutz expressed mixed feelings, as they've invited the prime minister to visit multiple times since the massacre.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at Kibbutz Nir Oz on Thursday, where he met with captivity survivors and toured the sites of destruction in his first visit since the October 7 Hamas massacre.
"I'm here with my wife, Sarah, in kibbutz Nir Oz in front of the destruction and slaughter. [Standing here], you feel it in the depths of your soul. The vastness of the pain, the depth of sorrow, the trauma that hasn't healed. Standing here, I feel a deep responsibility to return all of the hostages. There are 20 live hostages and there are dead hostages. We will bring them all home," Netanyahu said.
"We need to work hard so that this kibbutz will rise again, and it will rise again."
Initially, Netanyahu's convoy was met with heckling from protesters at the entrance to the kibbutz.
Residents of the Kibbutz shared mixed feelings ahead of the prime minister's arrival.
"I don't know how the visit will end or what Netanyahu expects during it. I'm not even sure how I feel,' Gal Goren, a third-generation member of Nir Oz who lost both of his parents in the massacre, said.
'On one hand, I am filled with anger and horror toward him, and that after over a year and nine months, he still continues to abandon our friends who are still there. On the other hand, as a family member of a hostage who was returned in a coffin, I know that we must try everything, including what is difficult for us."
Goren added that if Netanyahu spoke about revenge or continuing the war, and he doesn't understand that the goal should be returning the hostages, 'then it will be an injury and disrespect to everything that Nir Oz symbolizes, and an incomprehensible cruelty toward our community and all citizens of Israel.'
He added that the visit should not be seen as an opportunity for forgiveness, but an 'attempt to save lives and bring entire worlds back for burial.'
Danny Elgert, brother of hostage Itzik Elgert, said that protesters had initially blocked Netanyahu from entering the kibbutz.
Jonathan Shmariz, founder of the "Kumu" (Rise Up) movement, commented on the visit and the fact that Netanyahu won't be alone,
'He brought a camera crew. Slogans. A media briefing. He will talk about his courage. About his brave decisions. He will say, 'We are with you.' And then he'll return to his office, far from the smell of death, far from the children who have no home. We don't need another show. No more press conferences."
'We need leadership that comes in time. That feels the pain, not just films it. That admits failure, not boasts about it. Leadership that returns the hostages, restores life to rehabilitation, and brings the fallen to burial. We will not give up. Not in memory. Not on the hostages. Not on the truth. And we will build something else here. Real," Shmariz added.
The kibbutz emphasized that for months, they sent personal invitations to the prime minister to visit the location, which bore one of the highest blood tolls on October 7.
However, after the visit, the kibbutz said in a statement that its members expect renewed efforts to free the hostages.
"We expect that this visit will promote the return of the 50 hostages, including nine from Kibbutz Nir Oz, and that the Israeli government will be committed to the reconstruction of the kibbutz and the rehabilitation of its people, wherever they choose to live."
At the time, on the national day of mourning, members of the kibbutz sent Netanyahu an official invitation which read: "We invite you to come to the place where the disaster occurred, a place where life and death are neighbors—among the ruins of the homes, from which our cries were not heard. The members of the community will be there to welcome you."
The invitation also read: "On October 7, Kibbutz Nir Oz was the only kibbutz where security forces did not arrive during the hours the terrorists were on the kibbutz, and therefore they were able to do as they pleased—murdering and kidnapping over a quarter of Nir Oz's population and entering every home in the kibbutz, except for six."
Kibbutz member and former hostage Gadi Moses met with the prime minister during the visit.
Benjamin and Sara Netanyahu also met with Yizhar Lifshitz , son of former hostages Oded and Yocheved Lifshitz. Yocheved was returend in an early iteration of a hostage deal and ceasefire, but Oded's body was returned in February 2025.
Einav Zankauger, whose son Matan is still in Hamas captivity, met with the prime minister and the first lady at the kibbutz. The Zankauger family are members of Kibbutz Nir Oz and have been outspoken against Netanyahu's handling of the hostage crisis
After the meeting, Zangauker shared her thoughts of the meeting on X/Twitter.
"I met with the Prime Minister today in Nir Oz and, together with Ilana, told him about the moments of Matan and [Ilana's] abduction, emphasizing to him how critical Matan's deteriorating condition is. My Matan, unfortunately, won't hold on much longer there, not 60 nor 120 days," Zanguaker said.
"His muscular dystrophy is worsening, his condition is deteriorating, he must be released now, otherwise he won't survive. The Prime Minister promised to bring back Matan and everyone, up to the last hostage. I stressed to him that he has a mandate from the people of Israel to reach a comprehensive agreement for the return of all 50 hostages, the living and the fallen. Now is the time for action."
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement that the visit marked a new opportunity to bring the hostages home, noting that a partial deal would be a "grave failure and a tragedy that will haunt us for generations."
"After nearly two years of complex and grueling warfare, we must seize this window of opportunity with wisdom and resolve," the statement read. "Prime Minister, you must reach a comprehensive agreement that guarantees the return of every last hostage and brings an end to the fighting.
"The era of partial deals, categories, lists that distinguish between one life and another, and cruel selections must end."
The kibbutz suffered a serious blow on October 7, when 69 of its 386 residents, guests, and foreign workers were murdered, and an additional 76 were kidnapped by Hamas.
Currently, four hostages from Nir Oz remain in Hamas captivity.
