Vibrant and crisp, the juice is kept in plastic bottles for their monthly barbecues at Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Their only guests are the soldiers.
Situated about 2km (1.2 miles) from Gaza, Kfar Aza was among the initial locations attacked by Hamas gunmen on October 7. These coordinated attacks claimed 1,200 lives in southern Israel and resulted in the capture of over 240 hostages.
The community was relocated to hotels and apartments in different locations of Israel in the days that followed.
Shachar and Ayelet make the first retreat.
“It’s really lonely in the evening,” Ayelet remarks. “You used to see people walking along the road, coming in to say hello – obviously that’s not happening now.”
The kibbutz is busy during the day with visiting groups, including prospective funders, journalists, humanitarian organizations, and new recruits to the army.
Kfar Aza has turned into a sort of museum, with its damaged and burned homes lying abandoned and frozen the day of the attack, their doors barred, and personal things strewn all over the place.
