PHOTOS of a couple brutally murdered by Hamas thugs on October 7 hang outside a home – where their blood still stains the floor inside.
A year on from the atrocity that sickened the world, the Israeli village of Nir Oz chillingly remains in ruins.
Burnt-out houses in kibbutz Nir Oz
Alan DuncanThe image of a couple killed on October 7 hangs outside the home they were killed in[/caption]
Alan DuncanBlood stains remain on the ground where Hamas brutally murdered the pair[/caption]
Alan DuncanBullet holes can be seen in the door to the room[/caption]
Alan DuncanChildren’s toys lay discarded a year on from the atrocity[/caption]
Toys lay abandoned, an elderly resident’s zimmer frame cast aside, and home after home wrecked and deserted.
Nir Oz is the closest kibbutz to the Hamas stronghold of Gaza, sitting just a mile from the fortified border.
Dreamers and idealists who believed it was possible to leave in peace came to live in the village, hoping to overcome centuries of entrenched hate.
But their haven was turned into hell as cowardly Hamas terrorists poured through a gap in the 10ft fence to kill and kidnap a quarter of the once idyllic farming community.
Around 150 armed gunmen attacked the village from three directions – blowing up security cameras in the process.
As gunmen swept through, terrified families attempted to lock themselves in safety.
But callous terrorists barbarically torched their homes to deliberately force them out.
Cowering families too petrified to face Hamas brutes were burned alive in their homes.
Some of those who came face to face with gunmen were executed on the spot – both young and old.
Others were frogmarched over the border back to the terrorist’s lair.
Hamas’ evil rampage through the sleepy village left at least 100 of its 400 residents dead, injured or abducted.
Hours after Hamas tore the kibbutz apart, troops from the Israel Defence Forces arrived to horror scenes.
Surviving residents were evacuated to Eilat, and still live in temporary housing.
Damage is so severe, Israeli authorities believe it will take at least two years to fully rebuild Nir Oz.
Now – exactly a year on from the atrocity – time has stood still and the kibbutz remains untouched.
Airstrikes and shelling can be heard in the distance as the war triggered by Hamas’ inhumane assault rages on.
Rita Livshitz, who lived in the village, showed The Sun around, with burnt-out homes laying bare the unimaginable devastation inflicted by Hamas.
She said: “My kibbutz here is destroyed. Innocent people died because Hamas terror is in charge in Gaza.
“We need to get the hostages back. I wish I could go there to bring them home now.”
British photographer Danny Darlington and his girlfriend Carolin Bohl were visiting family and friends in the kibbutz when Hamas tore the village apart.
They were viciously killed inside the home they were staying in.
Tragically, Danny and Carolin had been due to leave for Tel Aviv the day before the attack.
Now a heartbreaking picture of them beaming hangs outside the house, with the words “remembering Danny and Caro” handwritten above.
The scene inside the house is enough to make anyone’s blood run cold.
Signs of struggle and ransacking are clear, with clothes and other items strewn through the house.
A door in the back is covered in bullet holes – behind it the room where they were barbarically slaughtered.
Blood can still be seen debris-covered on the ground.
Rita – whose destroyed home is next to the house where Danny and Carolin were killed – said: “You can see how Hamas shot the door.
“And they probably got in here [the bedroom]. This is where Danny and Caro were murdered on October 7.
“May they rest in peace. I think the whole world should know how Hamas went in and brutally murdered people of kibbutz Nir Oz.”
Alan DuncanPhotos of the Siman Tov outside their burnt-out home[/caption]
Alan DuncanThe inside of the house Hamas thugs torched with the family inside[/caption]
Alan DuncanThe discarded zimmer frame of an elderly resident[/caption]
Alan DuncanThe destroyed wreckage of the village’s shop[/caption]
Alan DuncanFour tables have been set up inside the community hall to commemorate those killed and taken hostage[/caption]
Alan DuncanStickers on letters boxes – red for those murdered, black for those kidnapped and blue for two released[/caption]
Down the streets sits the burnt-out home of a family massacred by heartless Hamas brutes.
Photos of them grinning together are stuck to the wall of their once happy home.
All that remains now are the charred walls.
Tamar Kedem Siman Tov, 35, her husband Yonatan “Johnny”, 36, and their five -year-old twin daughters, Shahar and Arbel, were all murdered by Hamas terrorists in their home.
Their son Omer, two, was Hamas’ youngest victim in the village.
Wicked Hamas thugs torched their home as Johnny desperately text his sister to say: “They’re here, they’re burning us, we’re suffocating.”
Tamar was running to be mayor of the Eshkol region in an election delayed because of the war.
Destroyed home of the Bibas family
THE once loving home of the Bibas family still stands in ruins.
Yarden, Shiri and their two children Ariel, five, and 21-month-old Kfir are the only entire family still be held hostage after a year.
The two youngsters, with their distinctive flame-red hair, are the only child hostages who have not yet been released by the terror group.
Video emerged of mum Shiri looking utterly terrified and crying as she clung to her sons while Hamas gunmen led them from the family home.
Moments later, Yarden was smashed over the head with a hammer and, with blood streaming down his face, was hauled to Gaza.
This, too, was filmed and posted online.
A hostage who was set free the following month as part of a limited deal confirmed he was alive but was being held separately from his wife and kids.
The terror group claimed around the same time that Shiri, 33, and the boys were dead, but Yarden’s sister Ofri told The Sun: “We still don’t know if that is right or not.”
Heartbreaking footage shows their home untouched since Hams thugs rampaged through it.
Their missing posters can be seen stuck on the cracked walls.
A children’s playhouse sits outside with other discarded toys and chairs.
Rita said: “She was a great fighter. I loved Tamar’s heart, and smile, and strength.
“She always said everything would be ok. And Hamas murdered her and her entire family.”
At the heart of the community was a dining hall, where many residents would share laughter over breakfast, lunch and dinner.
It now stands eerily quiet, with doors riddled with bullet holes.
Stickers have been put on letterboxes – red for murdered, black for kidnapped, and blue for released hostages.
Inside, four tables have been laid up: two for the dead, one for those still in Hamas’ clutches, and one for those released.
Residents of Nir Oz were briefly comforted when Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, and Nurit Yitzhak, 79, were released late in October last year.
But around 29 people from the village remain in Gaza, with at least nine feared dead.
Among them are Yocheved’s elderly husband Oded, 84, and the Bibas family.
The Bibas brothers, Kfir, one, and Ariel, five, are the only children hostages still being kept in Gaza.
Posters of the Bibas family have been put on the wall of their home
Children’s toys sit discarded outside
Shiri appeared tearful as she was taken away from her home
Hamas says they were killed with their mum Shiri, 33, in airstrike – but Israel maintains they’re alive.
Israel is still fighting to get dozens of hostages home a year after Hamas’ attack.
The terror group’s bloody assault on Israel sparked a year of bloodshed, with the Middle East now teetering on the brink of all-out war.
Israel is still razing much of Gaza as its troops look to wipe out Hamas and rescue hostages still being held by Hamas thugs a year on.
And Israel’s archenemy Iran has been using its terror proxies to do its dirty work.
Hezbollah has fired rockets from Lebanon in solidarity with Hamas, while the Houthis in Yemen have terrorised the Red Sea by attacking any ships they deem to be connected with Israel.
Meanwhile, another front has also opened in Lebanon after Israeli troops and tanks last week poured over the border on a mission to wipe out Hezbollah’s war machine.
And last week, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Tehran “will pay” after making the “big mistake” of unleashing 181 missiles at Israel last Tuesday night.
It’s left the region on the cusp of seeing an all-out war erupt as leaders across the world call for an end to hostilities.
How many hostages are still in Gaza?
ISRAEL believes around 101 hostages are still being held in Hamas’ evil clutches in Gaza.
At least 36 of them are feared to be dead.
A total of 97 hostages remain unaccounted for after they were kidnapped by Hamas thugs a year ago.
And a further four people taken hostage in 2014 and 2015 are still being held.
According to Israeli figures, 251 Israelis and foreigners were abducted by Hamas on October 7 last year.
A group of hostages were released in November and another one in June.