Residents of Kibbutz Nahal Oz near the Gaza border petition the High Court of Justice on Monday against a government move that would effectively compel them to return to their homes, arguing that the war still raging in the Strip, just a few hundred meters away, makes it too difficult.

The petition aims to block a government decision to end state funding for their temporary housing at other locations, where they have been staying since being evacuated after the kibbutz was attacked at the start of the war. The funding will stop in September, Haaretz reported.

Citing the collective trauma the residents suffered during the Hamas-led invasion of October 7, 2023, they said noise from the war is clearly audible, noting that the continuing danger — including occasional stray rounds hitting the community — impacts their feeling of security and mental health.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas led 5,600 terrorists who stormed across the border, massacred some 1,200 people, and took 251 hostages to Gaza.

An IDF probe has found that 180 Hamas terrorists entered Nahal Oz, murdered 14 of its residents, and abducted seven others during their onslaught in the community, which lies just 800 meters from the border.

Some 120 kibbutz members signed Monday’s petition, among them several whose........

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