Understandably, the Hamas massacres of October 7th and the ensuring war brought tourism to Israel almost to a complete stop. However, despite the ongoing war, the relative calm that we’ve been experience inside Israel over the past year or so has led to a welcome resurgence in inquiries about tours.
It’s been interesting to note that now almost all the messages I’ve been getting have been asking for a tour to the area known as the Gaza Envelope (Otef Aza in Hebrew), the area which bore the brunt of the Hamas attacks. Sometimes this is as part of a several-day tour, sometimes the request is just for one day specifically focused on that area.
For a long time I avoided going down to the area. I am still traumatised by the events of that terrible day and its aftermath, and I was afraid to go down to where it actually happened. I wasn’t sure how I would react. I was also torn about whether I should go down or not, for reasons I’ll discuss later in this post.
But given the clear demand for these tours, I didn’t want my first experience to be with someone I was guiding. For professional reasons, I had to go down, understand the lay of the land, and think about how I would guide. So a couple of weeks ago I travelled south with a tour guide friend and colleague, and we discussed exactly these questions.
There are a lot of opinions about tourism in the Gaza Envelope so in this post I will discuss some of the debate about whether or not people should go at all, share some of the main sites that people visit, and offer some suggestions for how to build an itinerary plan.
The key sites
The Nova memorial
The most common request I’ve been getting is to visit the site of the Nova festival. Located roughly 5km (3 miles) from the Gaza border, this music festival was the scene of some of the worst attacks by the Hamas terrorists.
Nearly 400 people were killed, including my friend’s cousin Sigal Levy (I interviewed her brother to learn more about her life, you can watch the video here). Many hundreds more were wounded and 44 people were taken hostage.
Today, the Nova site has been turned into a moving memorial by the bereaved families, some of whom take time regularly to go down to the site and talk to groups about the people they lost.
It’s developing all the time, with new installations and new information. It’s surreal…you’re close to the border, there’s still a war going on, and every now and again we’d hear huge explosions. Did that maybe bring it home a bit more? I certainly found the visit very moving, and incredibly, incredibly sad.
Protective shelters along Route 232
Route 232 is the main road that runs along the border between Israel and Gaza, connecting the many small communities that are based in the area. In the aftermath of the October 7th massacres, many have started to call it the Highway of Death, a macabre moniker which I still find it hard to say (and I deliberated editing it out of this article, but I don’t think it can be avoided at this point).
The problems between Israel and Gaza didn’t begin on October 7th, Hamas have been firing rockets on and off at Israel since 2001. For those living close to the border, you have 15 seconds (or less) from hearing a warning siren to get to a safe space, so the bus stops along Route 232 all have a small protective shelter that you can go into if you’re caught with a siren while you’re waiting for a bus.
On October 7th, many people squeezed into these shelters as a place of refuge, because in addition to the Hamas infiltration (which for a long time people didn’t understand was happening), there was a huge amount of rocket fire. Unfortunately, they became death traps as the terrorists found the people hiding there and murdered them.
These shelters have now all been turned into makeshift memorials, covered in graffiti, stickers, poems, candles. Some of them are identified with stories of great heroism or some of the hostages who became particularly well known (such as Hersh Goldberg-Polin).
The burnt car memorial
Along Route 232, many people were caught by the terrorists in their cars, and murdered by gun fire or RPGs. The cars were burnt and their frames twisted beyond all recognition. Apparently disposing of these cars is an environmental hazard, and so they’ve all been collected into one area close to the highway, where they’re now on display as a testimony to Hamas’s barbarism.
Some of the cars have the stories of those who were in them, and the site has a general feeling of being more institutionalised, particularly compared to the Nova site, which feels more organic.
The Shuva Achim rest stop
On October 7th, three brothers from a small community called Shuva, about 7km (4 miles) from Gaza, set up a simple coffee stand at the junction outside their village to support Israeli soldiers rushing to the front. As the war intensified, their simple gesture grew into a full-scale grassroots operation known as Shuva Achim (“Return of the Brothers”).
What began as coffee and comfort quickly expanded into a 24/7 rest station providing thousands of hot meals daily, clean clothing, toiletries, and anything else needed to IDF troops.
When we went there we met one of the brothers who insisted on showing us around and telling us the full story, and said that he really wants tourists to come and visit (and even volunteer by helping serve meals). It’s an amazing and inspiring story amongst all the tragedy of that terrible day.
Sderot
Sderot is the closest town to the Gaza strip, and suffered heavily when Hamas terrorists arrived on October 7th in pick-up trucks, armed with machine guns and RPGs. The terrorists took over the police station and hunted down citizens on the streets. It was some of the most terrifying imagery from that day.
The police station was destroyed as part of the attack and today a beautiful and touching memorial stands in its place. A short walk away, it’s possible to watch a short but powerful movie where people from the town talk about their experiences (and in many cases, heroics) on October 7th. There’s also a newly developed lookout on the edge of the town, called the Kobi Lookout, where you can see deep into Gaza (and get a sense of how close everything all is).
Visiting a kibbutz or local community
We didn’t go into a kibbutz on our trip but many people are keen to visit the places that saw some of the worst attacks, massacres and destruction, such as Be’eri, Kfar Aza, Netiv Ha’Asara, or Nir Am.
Before the war you could just drive into most of these places; now the gates are shut and visitors are only through prior arrangement. It is possible to have members of the kibbutzim take you around and share the details of that detail. For us, it felt a bit too much to handle.
Other sites
Before the war, when guiding in the Gaza Envelope, I often used to take people to the Black Arrow memorial as it offers a good view into Gaza and is a good place to discuss some of the geography and history of the area. On the day we visited, the military had closed it to the public.
There’s also a memorial to the (female) lookout soldiers, who suffered terribly on October 7th (despite having warned the army about what looked like an impending attack). This was also closed on the day we visited for military reasons.
Beyond October 7th in the Gaza Envelope
Netivot and the Tomb of the Baba Sali
During our day we went over to Netivot, a town that’s about 7km (4 miles) from Gaza. But…we didn’t go there to visit October 7th sites. Netivot has a couple of nice spots for lunch (we had a great sabich sandwich) and is most famous for hosting the tomb of the Jewish mystic known as the Baba Sali.
The Baba Sali was a beloved Moroccan-Israeli rabbi and kabbalist known for his deep spirituality, humility and reputed miracles. He died in 1984 but is loved and revered to this day, making his tomb a major site of pilgrimage, particularly (but not exclusively) for Jews of north African descent.
We visited the tomb and loved the positive energy, with many celebrations going on in parallel, and a general hustle and bustle. It was a big contrast to the vibe of the rest of our day and we thought it was nice to have that change of tone and remember that despite the horrendous attacks, life goes on, and joy is still possible.
The Salad Trail (Shvil HaSalat)
Before the war, this was often a place I’d love to stop at. The interactive agricultural tour explains how Israel was able to make the desert bloom through pioneering farming techniques, allowing you to pick and taste fresh produce from the fields. See more on The Salad Trail’s website.
The ancient synagogue at Maon
As discussed in my post from the tour guiding course, this is a beautiful mosaic from a 6th century synagogue with some unusual motifs; a testimony to the long history of Jewish settlement in the area.
Ethical considerations for touring the Gaza Envelope
Very soon after the war began, people (initially, mostly Israelis) began heading down to the area of the Gaza Envelope to see things for themselves, and immediately a debate began as to whether this was an ethical/appropriate thing to do.
In the guiding community, a debate erupted on social media and in WhatsApp groups, which has largely died down, but the arguments are still there. Let’s take a look at the considerations for and against, and then I’ll share my thoughts.
The importance of bearing witness
Almost as soon as the massacres happened, the denials began around the world. Despite the overwhelming evidence, much of it filmed by Hamas terrorists themselves, a huge disinformation campaign was unleashed on social media to minimise the horrors of the attacks and discredit what Israel was saying.
At a time where Holocaust denial is growing more prevalent, many make the argument that going and seeing these things with your own eyes, and even more so, sharing your experiences on social media, is an important contribution in the information war, now and in the years to come. Because in 10 years, 20 years, when the denial is still around, you’ll be able to say “I know it’s true as I saw it with my own eyes”.
Emotional and economic solidarity with local communities
As part of our day, we stopped just outside Kibbutz Beeri at a small rest stop they’ve built there, where amongst other things, they sell cheese from the kibbutz’s boutique cheese factory.
We asked the people there what they thought about tourists coming to visit the area and the October 7th sites. I was surprised to hear unanimous approval. They appreciated the solidarity, they saw a value in the economic impact (eating lunch in the area, or making donations to local causes etc), and also in people coming to bear witness.
This did come with caveats though. They said that some guides had been very insensitive, going into graphic descriptions of the events in full earshot of kibbutz members who had personally experienced the horrors. Honestly, I was shocked that anyone would do this, but it was an important takeaway about how to approach the guiding for a day like this.
And yet, what is the motivation?
How much of the trip is about going to bear witness and show solidarity, and how much is it about you? Are you going so that you can tell / post that you went, or are you going to really give of yourself and find ways to help? Are you a so-called ‘dark tourist’, seeking out gruesome stories for shock value?
Social media has made the world so narcissistic and there have been numerous stories of people taking inappropriate selfies in memorial sites or coming to visit with perhaps not the purest of motivations.
I’m sure this is a minority of people but it is a reason that there has been criticism of this tourism (and also a driving factor in the kibbutzim closing their gates to visitors without prior appointment and approval).
Is this a way to make a living?
Some guides feel deeply uncomfortable about “profiting” on the back of this disaster by leading tours to the area. And I share the discomfort. Because that’s not why we got into this. And also, frankly, these types of tours are emotionally very challenging.
Having said this, I want to be clear that this is not a judgement on those guides who are taking this work. Because travel to the Gaza Envelope is arguably very important for the reasons I outlined above. And with so little guiding work available, and families to support, you don’t always have the luxury of being able to make this choice.
But do be prepared for guides to turn this work down and react with sensitivity if they do. It’s not a reflection on you, or the value of the day, but it’s just not right for them. If it’s part of a bigger programme, it might be a different conversation, or they may help you find a replacement for that specific day.
How to approach a day in the Gaza Envelope: My thoughts
Overall, particularly given the clear support of the locals we met and spoke with, I think there is a value in putting a day like this into your Israel itinerary, but here are the things I would take into account.
Make it a part of a bigger itinerary
One of my tour guide colleagues who, like me, has a background in informal education, told me that he won’t take days like this by themselves, and he had a good rationale.
He said that you need to build time to prepare for, frame, and also process the trip, and I think he’s right.
When I was taking groups of Jewish youths to Yad Vashem, the Israeli national Holocaust memorial, we used to do a preparation session the night before and built in a good chunk of time for processing the visit afterwards.
And that was for a memorial about the Holocaust, a terrible terrible event, but one that happened well before they (or their parents) were born. Not one they lived through.
So if you’re planning a day like this, I recommend you make it part of a longer itinerary, and don’t put it at the beginning or the end, so you have the time to get ready for it properly and process it afterwards.
Go beyond October 7th
After our day together in the Gaza Envelope, as we processed it for ourselves, my friend and I both agreed that a day should include something not related to the massacres. A visit to the tomb of the Baba Sali example. An opportunity to see life being lived, to see these communities at their best and not just at their lowest moment. Consider how to build this in. There are a few suggestions earlier in this article.
Consider what to see, and what should remain unseen
The survivor and writer Primo Levi grappled with an idea that is still much debated when it comes to description of the Holocaust: the inadequacy of language to convey the horrors of what happened. This idea can also be extended to visual arts such as photography and film.
In fact, some argued that not clearly depicting or describing things was more appropriate; putting things into words or images, given that these media were inadequate, could have the effect of belittling what happened. Sometimes by not saying/showing, you empower people’s imaginations, and it helps them understand quite how awful things were.
Apologies for this philosophical aside, but it is relevant here, because how much do you want the gruesome details? Do you really want to see the burnt out cars? The bullet holes in the shelters by the bus stops?
I would suggest that hearing stories about the people we lost, rather than the details of their final moments, in many cases may be more meaningful and powerful, but that’s not to say it’s the right approach for every situation, every person, or even overall. Still, it is worth considering as you make your plans.
Be respectful of the people and the places
At all of these sites, you’re likely to encounter people who experienced terrible things on October 7th. Consider what questions you want to ask, where and how you want to ask them. Think about what if any photographs/videos you want to take, and if they include people, ask their permission.
If you go with a guide, bear in mind that it’s very challenging for many of us to relive these moments, and try to be sensitive and gentle.
Be flexible
It’s impossible to predict how you will react to these sites. You may feel nothing, you may be overcome with emotion. One of them may speak to you more than others. All these feelings, and more, are legitimate. But they may impact your day.
Don’t feel the need to do things just because they’re in your plan. Read the room, understand the people you’re traveling with, consider what your needs are; their needs are, and make adjustments accordingly.
Final thoughts
A trip to the Gaza Envelope can be a meaningful and powerful part of your trip to Israel. But make it a part of your trip; don’t make it the only tour you do. Consider what places you would like to visit, and think about how to experience the living communities in the area, and not just the terrible events of October 7th
I hope this post has been helpful and if you have any questions, you’re welcome to reach out.