Tzahi Gad, a member of Kibbutz Beeri for nearly 70 years, shared the difficult experience of massacre survivors returning to the Gaza border area.
In an interview with Kan Reshet Bet, Gad, whose home burned down but family survived, described the complex reality facing the mass return of Palestinians to northern Gaza Strip.
Gad first recalled the events of October 7, explaining, "The only reason they didn't set our house on fire was that they used the roof as an anti-tank position. This allowed them to hit two police vehicles and kill nine officers. The last explosion caused a fire in the garden, which ignited the house. Fortunately, the center of the house was not affected when my wife and I were in the safe room until nine at night before being rescued through the window."
He recounted how his grandson was saved that morning. "The house was on fire; they heard the neighbor in the adjacent wall pleading for his life in Arabic with the assailants. They heard him being tortured. Families with children jumped from the second floor. My grandson broke his leg and underwent three surgeries, lucky the neighbor heard them and took them into her home."
Gad expressed distrust in the security system. "We are in the house closest to Gaza. I trusted the IDF and their spokespeople, but not anymore. Only my wife kept saying over the years: 'What if they break through the fence in thousands and overwhelm us?'. The IDF built a dirt wall between us and Gaza, so we no longer see it, but I think it could happen again, if not in a year, in ten years."
Despite the trauma, he decided to return to the kibbutz long before others. "We returned to the kibbutz seven months ago, and we are almost alone here. I cannot feel like a refugee; this is my only home."