Kibbutz Nahal Oz Warns of Renewed Hamas Military Build-Up

The IDF and Shin Bet eliminated senior figures in Hamas's General Security mechanism in the Gaza Strip, the IDF Spokesperson said.

In recent days, the emergency and security teams of Kibbutz Nahal Oz sent an urgent letter to several members of Knesset, calling for a debate in the Knesset on Hamas's renewed military buildup in the Gaza Strip. "The very holding of the discussion is an important and significant step for us. It signals that there are those who understand the scale of the responsibility and the urgency of ensuring the security of residents of the border area," the letter sent to Yaalon Ron Ben-Moshe, Yitzhak Kroizer, and Ram Ben Barak said.

"We wish to emphasize that the issue at hand today is part of a broader and dangerous phenomenon. In recent months we have repeatedly warned of troubling trends, including a reduction in the defense force in the communities, the return of the fire kite phenomenon to threaten our security without a response, and the lack of an adequate answer to Hamas's continuing buildup," the kibbutz members wrote in the letter. They added: "We would like to remind you that the ultimatum for demilitarizing the Strip, which expired on April 8, did not change the reality on the ground."

"Since the ceasefire, we have seen the continued restoration of Hamas's economic system, a renewed military buildup, the resumption of rocket production, and the recruitment of tens of thousands more operatives. All this is taking place while the residents of the area are still struggling to rebuild their lives," the letter said.

Residents of the Gaza border area are warning of Hamas's buildup alongside a reduction in the defense in the communities, Reuters reported.

According to Nahal Oz residents, another threat, real and especially troubling, is the development of explosive drones. "This threat could, in a short time, dramatically undermine the sense of security and collapse the rehabilitation efforts of the entire region," the letter stressed.

The kibbutz members explained that the rehabilitation efforts of Nahal Oz and the Gaza border communities depend first and foremost on security stability. No investment in infrastructure, resilience, education, or community can replace basic, ongoing security. In their view, without such security, a full return of residents will not be possible and the rebuilding of life in the Gaza border communities will not be feasible.

They also wrote that the return of residents to the area is based on the state's promise to change the security reality, including a response in the form of security components on the one hand and the removal of the threat from the Strip on the other. "Now we are facing a blatant violation of this promise regarding the security components, while the threat from Gaza has not been removed."

The residents said trust in the residents has been severely damaged, worsened many times over after the abandonment they experienced on October 7, and that they have since been working to rebuild trust in state institutions and the security establishment. "We ask you to continue acting decisively so that the issue remains at the top of the national agenda, and to ensure that budgetary decisions do not harm the basic ability to protect the citizens of Israel in general and the residents of the border area in particular," they concluded.