A majority of Kibbutz Nir Oz members voted on Monday to return to their destroyed homes and rebuild, instead of relocating the kibbutz.
The kibbutz was among the hardest hit communities during Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of southern Israel. One in four residents was either killed or kidnapped, including the Bibas family, mother Shiri, husband Yarden and their two children, Ariel, 4, and Kfir, 9 months old.
In a letter to the government, the kibbutz members stressed their expectations for a large-scale and generous construction plan, according to Israel's Channel 12 News.
In May, Israel Defense Forces Brig. Gen. Moshe Edri, the head of the government body overseeing the rehabilitation of the Gaza border region, said residents of Be’eri, Nir Oz and Kfar Aza would only be able to return home in two to three years.
