Israel declares Oct. 7 massacre roadside shelters national heritage sites

Exactly three years after the Oct. 7 massacre, Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu on Wednesday declared the roadside shelters across the Gaza border area that became scenes of both mass killing and extraordinary acts of heroism to be national heritage sites. Under the precedent-setting decision, the shelters may not be demolished, removed, repainted or otherwise physically altered without professional approval, in an effort to preserve them as what the ministry called “living testimony” to the events of Oct. 7, 2023. The shelters along Route 232 became known in Israel as the “death shelters.” During the Hamas attack, Nova festivalgoers and people fleeing Zikim Beach sought refuge inside them. Hamas terrorists fired into the shelters, threw grenades inside and abducted several people sheltering there. Ninety people were murdered in the shelters and five were abducted. Nearly 40 Nova festivalgoers fled into the shelter at Be’eri Junction, where 16 were murdered.