Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Kibbutz Nir Oz on Thursday, a year and nine months after a quarter of its residents were either murdered or abducted in the Hamas October 7th Massacre.
This was Netanyahu's first visit to the Kibbutz since the massacre. Since the war began, the Prime Minister has been the target of much criticism for not visiting the communities that were devastated by the massacre.
At the entrance to the kibbutz, bereaved families held a demonstration and attempted to prevent the Prime Minister from entering. The Prime Minister's security detail did not allow the demonstrators to block the motorcade.
During the visit, Netanyahu was filmed embracing Einav Zangauker, the mother of the hostage Matan Zangauker and a vocal critic of the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister stated while at the kibbutz: "I am here with my wife Sara, at Kibbutz Nir Oz, opposite the scenes of destruction, devastation, and ruin, with the members of the kibbutz, those who survived, and also those who have returned from being held hostage. You feel, in the depths of your soul, the magnitude of the pain, the depth of the sorrow, the traumas that befell an entire community, and which are still befalling it. I feel a deep commitment, first of all, to ensure the return of all of our hostages, all of them. There are still 20 who are alive, and there are also those who are deceased, and we will bring them all back.
"But there is also a deep commitment to working here to rebuild this kibbutz and bring life back to the people. We will cut through the bureaucracy - and we will rebuild."
Sara Netanyahu stated: "Sagui Dekel Chen, who was held hostage and returned in the previous deal, showed me his young three-year-old daughter's pacifier. She and her seven-year-old sister, and his wife, held out inside the protected room. They held the door put the young girl's changing table - this sweet girl - against the door, and this is how they were saved, with heroism and resourcefulness.
"We then heard the story of his mother, who was taken hostage, and managed to escape and return to the kibbutz, which is another story about a courageous woman. I told him that he lives among heroic women. I think that alongside what the Prime Minister said, stories of devastation, the awful things that happened here, there being no words to describe the tragedy, there were stories of the astounding heroism of people, civilians, women and boys and girls. There was simply resourcefulness, bravery; it is impossible to describe where the strength came from. There were awful tragedies here."
The Prime Minister Netanyahu added: "Our sources say: 'The Lord will give strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace.' . The Lord will also bless this kibbutz - Nir Oz - with redemption and being settled."