Arutz-7's Kobi Finkler, reporting today from what was the community of Kfar Darom in Gaza, said that he toured through the ex-communities for an hour and a half. "Not a bird chirped, and barely a sign of life could be seen," he said. "Everything is destroyed and desolate. Every building is just a pile of ruins, except for a public structure here and there. The regional council in N'vei Dekalim, for instance, is still standing, but the commercial center adjacent to it is totally destroyed. There's not a person to be seen there."
Other buildings still standing in what was Gush Katif's largest town are the elementary school and the girls' high school, "but without the laughter and cries of the children."
The synagogues in the Gush Katif towns are among the few structures that have not yet been razed. A Supreme Court ruling on the matter is expected by Tuesday.
Finkler said that as he spoke, "here in Kfar Darom, bulldozing teams are using Congo drills to try to extricate the concrete security rooms from the buildings. Many things were left behind: I saw a pair of children's glasses, some books, tape recorders... Two-story buildings have become six-foot-tall piles of ruins."
Hundreds of volunteers were still allowed to enter the area today to help save whatever could be saved, but as of Thursday or Friday, no Israeli will allowed to be enter. One night next week - the exact day has not been publicized - the IDF will leave at midnight in a large convoy, with Brig.-Gen. Kokhavi, the local commander, leaving last and locking the gate, and the Arabs of the Palestinian Authority will be allowed to take over.
Asked about Arabs that had already entered, Finkler said, "This is true, but the army made sure that we didn't see them... At the hotel, however [- the former Palm Beach Hotel, along the Gush Katif coast just west of Ganei Tal - ed.], we saw some Mouasi Arabs standing around on the ruins... This hotel, which was the center of such joy and life on holidays and Sabbaths, is nothing more than rubble... The only thing we can see in the communities are a few tanks."
Other buildings still standing in what was Gush Katif's largest town are the elementary school and the girls' high school, "but without the laughter and cries of the children."
The synagogues in the Gush Katif towns are among the few structures that have not yet been razed. A Supreme Court ruling on the matter is expected by Tuesday.
Finkler said that as he spoke, "here in Kfar Darom, bulldozing teams are using Congo drills to try to extricate the concrete security rooms from the buildings. Many things were left behind: I saw a pair of children's glasses, some books, tape recorders... Two-story buildings have become six-foot-tall piles of ruins."
Hundreds of volunteers were still allowed to enter the area today to help save whatever could be saved, but as of Thursday or Friday, no Israeli will allowed to be enter. One night next week - the exact day has not been publicized - the IDF will leave at midnight in a large convoy, with Brig.-Gen. Kokhavi, the local commander, leaving last and locking the gate, and the Arabs of the Palestinian Authority will be allowed to take over.
Asked about Arabs that had already entered, Finkler said, "This is true, but the army made sure that we didn't see them... At the hotel, however [- the former Palm Beach Hotel, along the Gush Katif coast just west of Ganei Tal - ed.], we saw some Mouasi Arabs standing around on the ruins... This hotel, which was the center of such joy and life on holidays and Sabbaths, is nothing more than rubble... The only thing we can see in the communities are a few tanks."