Today began with more devastating news for the families of hostages, the Gaza border communities, and the whole country with the return of 6 hostages who had been killed by Hamas within the last week. The murder of Adv.-St.-Sgt.-Maj. Roni Shakuri, 61, from Sderot, the father of St.-Sgt.-Maj. Mor Shakuri who was murdered on October 7, in a terror attack that claimed the lives of 3 police officers this morning was another blow to the communities that have suffered horrific losses and ongoing trauma. <\/p>\n
Yet, today is also September 1st, the beginning of the school year, and the schools in Shaar HaNegev re-opened, albeit at 65% capacity. Security Chief for Shaar HaNegev, Eyal Hajbi said, \u201cThis year we don\u2019t see the joy as we\u2019ve seen in all the past years. Some people are still grieving from the events of the 7th of October, so the opening ceremony is celebrated more discreetly, more subdued, less joy of the children and the people who go wild here at the opening of the school year. But we also understand the great strength shown by our residents since October 7th. I repeat that like our downfall, we will rise up, God willing. We are still in sadness but we will revive ourselves and stand strong once again.\u201d <\/p>\n