In verdant vineyard, the cost of October 7 horrors for both Israel and Hamas are laid bare
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Israeli mortars are pounding the suburbs of Khan Yunis, once a city of about 200,000 in southern Gaza. We are on the Israeli side, where we hear the irregular thumps of mortars, then witness the rising smoke as they land.
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A group of Canadian journalists, on a trip sponsored by the Exigent Foundation, have come here to listen to Shlomo Margalit, an 87-year-old, native-born Israeli who co-founded the kibbutz in the 1950s.
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He is telling us about the horrors of October 7, but manages to find moments of humour with the comic timing of Larry David. 'That's a good question!' he tells one visitor who asked about the painted markings on each house left behind by the IDF search after the attack. 'You know why that's a good question? Because I have the answer!'
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He casts an eye on an Israeli Defense Forces Jeep passing on a security road: 'Where were they on October 7?'
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The IDF never fought for Nir Oz. Hamas caught all of Israel flat-footed, but nowhere more so than Nir Oz. The terrorists arrived here, and overcame fierce resistance from the kibbutz's security team within a few hours. They murdered residents, set homes ablaze and took hostages, then left when they were done. The army arrived later.
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Margalit takes us on a short tour; he's done this dozens of times in the 19 months since October 7.
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He takes us to the home of the Siman Tov family – a couple with young twins and a toddler, all killed, the house mangled and burned.
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'Over there lived a single woman, she's a nurse,' he tells us. She was taken hostage, and released after 50 days after an internment in which she, via a wilfull personality, strong-armed Hamas into letting her treat some of the other hostages, he says.
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