Laughing and dancing again: Kibbutz Nahal Oz reopens pub abandoned after Oct. 7

The Shack, rebuilt with help from the Bazan oil firm and Dutch and German volunteers, is dedicated in memory of soldier who defended the kibbutz and was later killed in Gaza

Nahal Oz has reopened its pub, which was abandoned when the Gaza border kibbutz evacuated following the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023, the community announced Friday.

HaTzrif (“The Shack”) is now dedicated to the memory of Sgt. First Class Tal Lahat, who fought in the kibbutz during the October 7 attack and was killed in the ensuing Gaza war in July 2024.

“We’re returning, planting, building and dancing,” said the 400-strong community, which lost 15 members in the massacre. “May our renewed pub know only sounds of laughter, good news, friendship and music from now on.”

The pub has undergone two renovations since kibbutz members started returning in 2024, according to the community.

The restoration was carried out with the help of German and Dutch volunteers and funding from the Bazan petrochemical company, which has taken the community under its wing following October 7, the kibbutz said.

Kibbutz members celebrated the pub’s reopening on Wednesday night with a performance by singer-songwriter Elai Botner, who is himself a native of Kibbutz Ein Carmel in northern Israel.

During the celebration, Nahal Oz members sang Botner’s Chag HaMeshek (“Ranch Holiday”), which was inspired by the tale of Nahal Oz’s children.

The performance provided a “moving closure” for kibbutz members, who met with Botner in their temporary home in Kibbutz Mishmar Ha’Emek just two weeks after the massacre, Nahal Oz said.

“From the sadness and the withdrawn people that Elai first met at the Mishmar Ha’Emek pub two weeks after the catastrophe — to Wednesday night, when the Nahal Oz green was filled with singing, dancing, joy and crying together,” Nahal Oz said.

On October 7, 2023, thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages. All the hostages have since been returned, alive or dead.

In Kibbutz Nahal Oz, eight people were abducted, including a community member killed in the onslaught and another killed in captivity in Gaza.