Kibbutz Nir Oz commemorates the 65 murdered, 83 taken hostage on October 7
Nine kibbutz members remain hostages in the Gaza Strip two years after Hamas’s massacre swept through the kibbutz.
Kibbutz Nir Oz commemorated the second anniversary of Hamas’s October 7 massacre on Tuesday.
The massacre led to 65 kibbutz members being murdered, and 83 being taken hostage, including four who managed to escape, and three who were murdered along the route to the Gaza Strip.
Nine of those taken hostage are among the 48 remaining Gaza hostages.
“Exactly two years ago, our world collapsed,” the kibbutz’s statement began.
“We will remember the Nir Oz community in its days of glory – the homes, the lawns, the trees, and the paths. The pool and the grocery store, the places where we met by chance and shared the small conversations that were such a central part of our communal life,” the statement continued.
Kibbutz Nir Oz members hold a memorial ceremony in the kibbutz cemetery in the build up to the second anniversary of Hamas’s October 7 massacre, October 6, 2025. (credit: Tsafrir Abayov/Flash90)
We will remember the “holidays we celebrated together, the arguments and disputes that now surely seem insignificant. The flower of Nir Oz. The creativity and enterprise that made Nir Oz a cultural gem of the Negev – the exhibitions in the White House, and the best live music lineup ever,” the statement continued.
‘The gate that failed to protect us’
“We will remember the yellow gate that protected our special home but on that fateful day collapsed under the murderous assault and failed to protect us. We will remember that we were all heroes – from the babies to the elders. All of us! We will remember that we are strong in a thousand ways, and like the phoenix, from the ashes we will rebuild new life,” the statement added.
“We will remember that day, its noontime sun rising over a blood-soaked land, the skies standing tall and silent. We will remember the mounds of ash beneath the blooming gardens,” the kibbutz added.
