Residents of Kibbutz Kissufim, who were evacuated to temporary housing in the southern town of Omer following the October 7 massacre, have issued a strongly worded letter to the Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Department and Settlements and National Missions Minister Orit Strok, demanding immediate action to address severe infrastructure failures in their homes.
About 25 families — including infants, elderly residents and people with medical conditions — are currently living in unsafe structures with exposed metal, cracked walls, broken floors, indoor flooding, extensive mold and safe rooms detaching from the buildings.
“These homes do not meet safety standards,” the letter read. “The situation is a direct result of mismanagement and budget disputes between government ministries. We’re tired of polite dialogue — it’s time for action.”
Sharon Ofri, the community manager for Kissufim, said the problems have been flagged since October. “The houses are falling apart. It feels like we’ve been abandoned,” she said. “Contractors who showed up just put a band-aid on the issues and everything came back. They’re saving money at the expense of our safety.
“Some of these homes are hazards. In these conditions, there’s nothing to celebrate this Passover. Government representatives don’t even show up to the meetings they schedule. It’s unacceptable that we can’t host our families under humane conditions.”
In their letter, the residents added: “We’re not asking for pity. We’re demanding our rights — and the vision that you declared yourselves. We expected the state to stand with us but it seems the only way to get results is through unwavering pressure.”
‘If the ceiling collapses on my baby, who’ll take responsibility?’
Daniel and Shir Dmitrienko, a young couple with a seven-month-old daughter, moved into a temporary modular home in Omer just a week before the birth. “After we were rescued from Kissufim on October 7, we were relocated to a hotel near the Dead Sea. After ten months, we were glad to leave the hotel and finally cook for ourselves and feel at home again,” Daniel said.
But the problems soon followed. “We started hearing strange clicking noises at night. A crack appeared between the safe room and the rest of the unit. Within a week, the room sank, floor tiles cracked and water started seeping in. Suddenly, there was a puddle in the middle of our home.”
Get the Ynetnews app on your smartphone: Google Play: https://bit.ly/4eJ37pE | Apple App Store: https://bit.ly/3ZL7iNv
He added: “The safe room is our baby’s room. The day after someone came to fix it, a piece of the ceiling fell — just seconds after I walked by with her in my arms. My wife’s afraid to even change her diaper in there. When a rocket siren sounds, we have to run into the safe room through broken tiles and a sharp slope.
“We’re scared to let our baby crawl. We’re grateful to have a roof over our heads but it’s falling apart — and we’ve been stuck like this for months. If the ceiling collapses on our daughter, who’ll be held responsible?”
‘Even the basics are falling apart’
Batya Nisan, a mother of two who spent 17 hours in a safe room with her family during the October 7 attack, is also living in Omer and described similar conditions. “They came three times to fix things — but the tiles are still cracking, the walls are still splitting and the floor is visibly slanted.
“The cracks are so deep I can see daylight through the wall. It’s infuriating and exhausting. I’m not asking for mercy — just a livable home. We’ve been through enough. Our lives are already unstable and now our temporary housing is too.”
She walked through her home, pointing to the sloped safe room floor caused by sinking and a large wall crack letting in light. “This has a huge impact on me. People tell us to take a deep breath because this is ‘temporary’ — but this is my home right now. We got here late due to government delays and we’re still paying the price.”
‘I thought it would be fixed in two days’
Benny Hasson, a member of Kissufim for 40 years and now the community spokesperson, echoed the concerns. “The safe room sank, the wall is collapsing and I have no idea when it’ll collapse on me.
“Everyone blames someone else. The state abandoned me on October 7 and instead of fixing the damage, it’s adding new hardships. When there are alerts, getting to the safe room is dangerous. People could slip — it’s scary.”
“I thought they’d fix it in two days. Some people came, glued things together, did some patchwork — but then it all came back. Now they don’t even show up. Honestly, the physical damage bothers me less than the feeling. Just give us a sense of safety here too. When they ignore this crack, they ignore everything else. I already feel awful about being displaced.”
“We regret the residents’ distress and consider addressing these issues a top priority,” the Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Department said in a statement. “We're working urgently with the contractor through the Settlement Division and repairs are scheduled to begin during the intermediate days of Passover, in full coordination with community representatives.”