Inside kibbutz where Israeli couple murdered by Hamas lived in peace

EXCLUSIVE: Inside the peaceful kibbutz where Israeli couple murdered by Hamas lived in peace for 32 years before their home was obliterated by grenades: Mail is shown ruins of community opened up for the first time since October 7 attacks

Bilha and Yakovi Inon died in their home of 32 years in Netiv Haasara kibbutz
Community was home to 1,000 people and was opened for first time since attack

Bilha and Yakovi Inon died as they had lived, together in a kibbutz targeted by Hamas terrorists who launched a rocket propelled grenade at the wooden home.

Just weeks before, the couple who had retired to the ‘blissfully peaceful’ Netiv Haasara kibbutz, described their house as ‘heaven on earth’ and moved their 32 years ago to raise their five children.

The community was home to around 1,000 people – and held the distinction of being the closest kibbutz to the Gaza Strip – just two minutes walk from the border and MailOnline was given access by the IDF to visit as it opened up for the first time.

Under close protection from armed soldiers, photographer Jamie Wiseman and myself were shown around the well-kept houses, which given the proximity to Gaza were surprisingly unscathed, nestling in countryside with idyllic views towards the Mediterranean, broken by lemon and grove groves and olive trees.

But when we were shown the burnt out remains of Bilha and 78-year-old Yakovi’s home – as gunfire and artillery could be heard from over the wall separating Gaza from Israel – the full horror of what unfolded just after dawn on October 7 hit home.

Bilha and Yakovi Inon’s American style wooden chalet was burnt to the ground with them inside

Nick Pisa pictured in the Netiv Haasara kibbutz, the closest Israeli settlement to the Gaza Strip

Bilha and Yakovi Inon died as they had lived, together in a kibbutz targeted by Hamas terrorists

What was once an idyllic refuge of comfort and joy for the couple, their children and their eleven grandchildren was just a twisted mass of metal and ash, as belongings lay shattered in what remained of their home

The loving couple burned to death as they lay terrified in the panic room of their home after Hamas terrorists arrived on paragliders just after 6.30am, raining death from the skies.

Fragments of pottery and ceramic work that Bilha, 75, used to make lay shattered on the ground, the front door blown off its hinges and lying on the floor of what was once their front room, with its view onto the nearby orange groves.

According to family and friends Bilha used to make the statues for ‘good luck’ and in an interview with Israeli media Haaretz just six months before they died, brushed aside the proximity of the border.

A string of beads, lies in the dust and a shattered mask lies broken on the ground.

In the interview Bilha said:’ When we got here, we knew that the border was close, but then it was very quiet. Everyone travelled freely, and there were a lot of workers here from Gaza.

‘When there was a problem, and the situation heated up, all the families leave but we often stay, it all depends on how strong the escalation is.

The loving couple burned to death as they lay terrified in the panic room of their home after Hamas terrorists arrived on paragliders just after 6.30am

A burnt out car can be seen in the remains of the home attacked on October 7

‘When its quiet, it’s heaven on earth here. People almost never leave the place, and there is not one free apartment.’

The couple visited their children in Tel Aviv, just a week before the attack, and their granddaughter Mai said: ‘We sang, we laughed, we played games. We suggested they stay.

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‘But they preferred going home and sleeping in their own beds. They were the best, most modest people who loved all humans. I’m sure if those scum who did it entered, they would have been offered coffee and cake.

Hila Fenlon, 46, who lived on the Kibbutz told MailOnline: ‘They were amazing couple, Bilha was an artist and Yakovi was a farmer, and the terrorists shot a missile into their house, and it burnt down with them inside.

‘The terrorists aimed it on purpose because it was a wooden house and they knew it would burn down they died inside, they lost their lives here, but we will not forget the.

‘We experienced a nightmare that morning and all because we are the closest kibbutz to the Gaza strip.

‘I have lived here nearly all my life and when we came here, we would go to Gaza as it was the closest city to us, and for the last few years it was peaceful, then the murders, child killers and rapists came.

‘I spent the day in a shelter with my children fearing for our lives because the terrorists were roaming the streets shooting and killing everyone – I had a message from Bilha and Yakovi’s son asking about them that morning.

The couple lived together in the home for 32 years. Bilha was an artist and Yakovi was a farmer

According to family and friends Bilha used to make the statues for ‘good luck’

The community was home to around 1,000 people – and held the distinction of being the closest kibbutz to the Gaza Strip

The couple lived peacefully in the area for decades before the attacks of October 7

‘But I said I hadn’t seen them, I said there were explosions and shooting and we had gone to the shelter, the last message from Bilha and Yakovi was just before 8am and then there was silence.’

Mum-of-two Hila added: ‘This was a complete surprise, no one was expecting this, they came from the skies in paragliders and started killing and shooting everyone they saw, I just grabbed my kids and ran.

‘We are so close to the border that when the siren sounds sometimes, we have just a few seconds to get to the shelter we are that close, but it was never as bad as that morning, I will never forget it.’

‘I will never forget the sounds of screaming, gunshots, explosions that morning, I was terrified, and I lost dear friends that day – thanks to people who were my neighbours.

‘We would catch the bus with then in the morning but now they are not me neighbours they are my enemy.’

As Hila spoke the rat-a-tat of machine gun fire could clearly be heard coming from over the border as IDF forces engaged with Hamas terrorists, accompanied by a rhythmic booming as shells pounded Gaza city just five miles away.

Before the trip a gritty IDF soldier had warned media who were on the trip not to broadcast live on Facebook or post any updates on social media for fear of giving our presence away and indeed halfway through a siren blared a ‘red Alert’ warning of an incoming missile.

Nick Pisa pictured in the Netiv Haasara kibbutz

The former home of Bilha and Yakovi Inon is pictured raised to the ground

Guards were required during the visit to ensure the protection of the press who visited the former community

Diving to the ground, sand covering our heads as instructed, several distinct booms could be heard overheard and peering skywards, puffs of white smoke could been seen as the Iron Dome protection system kicked in

Once the all clear had sounded, dusting ourselves down one of the security team quipped: ‘Somebody as live on Facebook, somebody didn’t listen….’

Edging closer, and always under the protection of the accompanying soldiers MailOnline approached the border, marked by a huge concrete powering 60ft that Hila explained had been built to ‘stop Hamas snipers shooting into homes.’

A short distance away, one on section of wall there were the words ‘Path to Peace’ decorated with coloured stones, but the path to peace from what MailOnline could see was sadly potholed by mortar shells.

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