Amid devastation, Herzog reopens Kibbutz Be’eri printing factory

As southern Israel continues to sort through the destruction of a Hamas assault, Israeli President Isaac Herzog inaugurated the opening of the Be’eri printing factory—the nation’s oldest printing house—in a move symbolic of the kibbutz’s determination to rebuild.

“Out of bereavement, tears, terrible pain and the darkness in which this community is located, we say to the world: ‘Nothing will break us.’ The Be’eri printing’ factory is a source of pride, the pride of Kibbutz Be’eri,” Herzog said.

“The factory manager, Ben, is here to get the machines back up and running, to declare to the world that we are here, and we are not leaving. We will slowly and surely return life to its course and prove to the world and to our enemy: You will never break us. The nation of Israel lives!” the president said.

Kibbutz Be’eri was founded in 1946. The printing house was established in 1950.

The president also toured the kibbutz and talked with survivors and soldiers.

The deaths of more than 100 members of the kibbutz weighed on everyone.

“This land is saturated with blood. There was life here, there was a paradise that turned into hell. We have a moral and national duty to return it to being a paradise. This is a profound obligation—a duty to their memory, a duty to the grieving families, a duty to bring the abductees home as swiftly as possible,” Herzog said.

“We need to understand that this enemy must be punished with all severity. This enemy must be annihilated with full force.”

According to government figures, more than 6,600 rockets have been fired at Israel since Oct. 7, with the death toll from the massacre rising to 1,400, including 286 slain soldiers. Over 3,500 persons were wounded and more than 120 were kidnapped back to Gaza.

Also Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited the Zikim military base near the Gaza border.

“What I saw here were demonstrations of heroism on the part of soldiers, men and women, all these people together. They protected the State of Israel with their bodies and protected the lives of the people who were in the towns and villages,” Gallant told journalists following the tour.

“This is a war between the sons of light and the sons of darkness, and it will be deadly but it will change the situation forever,” he stated.

“Wild beasts have murdered our soldiers, our children, our citizens. IDF fighters, together with the air force, intelligence personnel and navy will eliminate Hamas,” the defense minister vowed.