It's Hard to Believe What's Hiding Behind These Walls

Following the ceasefire which has stopped the barrage of Hamas rockets fired from Gaza, Israeli schools along the border have now reopened, some of which are so heavily fortified, they barely look like schools.

The Israeli news site Walla visited Nahal Oz in southern Israel, where Daniel Tragerman, 4, was killed in late August. The Savion preschool which he attended is now reinforced with concrete walls on all sides.

The kindergarten at Nahal Oz along the Gaza border looks more like a fortress (Image source: Walla)

Parents at Kibbutz Yad Mordechai were shocked to see the structure that awaited their children (Image source: Channel 2)

Children began classes in Nahal Oz this week, a week late, due to the fighting which lasted until the end of summer vacation.

“This year won’t be an easy one,” Tragerman’s teacher Adi Sagi told Walla. “The tragedy will continue to be with us.”

The Nahal Oz preschool from another angle. (Image source: Walla)

Parents at Kibbutz Yad Mordechai were shocked when they saw their kindergarten is now surrounded by 22-foot high walls. The reinforced concrete structures are designed to protect against incoming rocket and mortar attacks, but they also block sunlight from entering the school.

“We returned after the war and we were simply horrified,” a mother named Ronit told Israel’s Channel 2 News. “It not only looks bad, but these concrete barriers are blocking the air and light for children.”

“The tragedy will continue to be with us," said the preschool teacher of Daniel Tragerman who was killed when a mortar shell was fired from Gaza on August 22. (Image source: Family photo)

Quoting the parents, the Algemeiner reported that a new rocket-proof kindergarten will be completed in three years, so until then the makeshift solution will be in place.

Secretary of Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, Shauli Sankar, said, “Until that happens, we will make every effort that the appearance of the walls will be as friendly as possible.”