Kibbutz Be’eri is located about eight kilometers from the Gaza Strip and was one of the communities hardest hit by the terrorist attack on October 7, 2023. During the massacre, 101 civilians and 31 members of the security forces were killed, and 32 people were abducted into the Gaza Strip. Nearly ten percent of the kibbutz’s population at the time was either murdered or kidnapped.

A house as a deliberate sign of remembrance

After months of discussions, the members of the kibbutz voted on how to handle the destroyed houses. The majority decided in favor of demolishing all damaged buildings to avoid obstructing the reconstruction process. The one exception is a single house on the edge of the kibbutz that will be deliberately preserved as a memorial.

The house belonged to a family that was abroad at the time of the attack and was therefore not personally affected. The owner initially advocated for removing all destroyed buildings, so that the place would not become a destination for symbolic tourism. His focus, he said, was on remembering the murdered people, not the buildings themselves.

Despite this position, the family ultimately agreed to preserve the house as a site of remembrance after it became clear that many residents wanted to keep a visible sign of what had happened.

Demolition, reconstruction, and looking forward

All other destroyed houses in the kibbutz are to be demolished and replaced with new constructions. For many residents, this is a necessary step toward rebuilding a normal life. The reconstruction is intended to enable families to return to Be’eri in the long term, even though the process remains emotionally burdensome.

The preserved house will initially remain standing for at least five years. At a later stage, it will be evaluated whether it can become part of a central memorial site or a museum documenting the events of October 7. State authorities are also considering whether certain locations in Be’eri should be recognized as national memorial sites.

At the same time, extensive planning is underway in the kibbutz for new residential buildings and community facilities. Many former residents are still living in temporary accommodations. The decision to preserve only a single house as a memorial is meant to allow memory and a new beginning to coexist.

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