Little has changed in Ofakim, a working-class Israeli town hit by Hamas, in the month since the Palestinian militant group’s devastating assaults across the country’s south; houses hit by rocket-propelled grenades haven’t been repaired, and bullet-ridden vehicles still line the streets.
On Ha-Tamar Street, where about 20 people were killed, Arsem Miller, 25, was the only builder at work on Thursday afternoon. He was already working on the house before the events of 7 October, he said, and the scaffolding and paneless windows were the reason he believes Hamas fighters skipped the building on their rampage, thinking it was empty.
