A sukkah for the hostages was erected Tuesday at Kibbutz Be'eri, one of the Kibbutzim most significantly impacted by the October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel, in preparation for another holiday that will pass without the return of all the hostages.
"It is painful and incomprehensible that we have erected a 'hostage sukkah,' the purpose of which is to continue the fight to bring our loved ones back from Gaza," residents of the Kibbutz said.
The sukkah was built on the site where homes once stood from which residents of Be'eri, including Yossi Sharabi whose body is still captive, were taken hostage.
"There is no physical remnant of our home, not a picture, not a curtain, but we are here insisting on building a sukkah that will remind the whole world - there was a house here, there were families here, there was a world here, and it is not complete," said Nira Sharabi, Yossi's widow.
"We will not stop for a moment, and we won't allow people to forget; we must bring back [hostage] Eli [Sharabi] and Yossi and all the hostages who have been withering away for over a year in captivity.
The sukkah, set up where, until a few months ago, the burned houses of the residents of Be'eri still stood, is yellow and decorated with pictures of the ten hostages of the Kibbutz.
It is also adorned with an updated version of a prayer for sitting in the sukkah: "In this sukkah we will sit and listen to the beats of the heart that is missing those who must come home. From this sukkah we will send strength to the loved ones who must return and to all the families."
"At this entrance hope will come in, at this place we will say that we must remember and recognize that all must be brought back."
In a video posted to Instagram by Kulanu and the Hostage Family Forum, the family of Guy Gilboa-Dalal also prepared to celebrate the holiday without him.
"Before he went to the [Nova] party, he promised he would help me take down the sukkah," said Guy's father, adding that the sukkah has been left standing for a year, waiting for Guy to come home and help take it down.
'Sukkah has a purpose'
The sukkah "has a purpose," he added. "Its purpose is for Guy to come and take it down."
"This is the first time we celebrate the holiday without him," his mother said, adding that she believes that he is alive and well, and is waiting for the moment he comes back.
"As we approach the eve of Sukkot, our thoughts turn to those who cannot celebrate with their families this year," The Hostage Family Forum said in a statement made before the holiday.
"It has been more than 370 days in which 101 of our loved ones—parents, children, siblings, and grandparents—have been held captive by the terrorist organization Hamas."
"We call out to the world: don't forget us, don't forsake us. We urge you to do everything in your power to pressure for a deal to release these 101 hostages."