“Our flag is beautiful, modest, not colorful, but just as powerful and unifying - like the Israeli nation”
Hope and pain, resurrection and destruction, renewal and loss - all mixed together, are the cornerstones of the "Netiv HaTikvah" site.
On the morning of Shabbat, the 7th of October 2023, 20 men and women from the Netiv HaAsara community were murdered within the Moshav.
With a heavy heart, in memory of all those murdered and fallen in the "Iron Swords" war, and in the name of hope and resurrection, the Netiv HaTikvah site was established in Netiv HaAsara. In the center of the site, a mast is raised to a height of over 50 meters. It carries a flag that is bigger than 200 square meters (2153 square feet). This is the biggest Israeli flag that has been raised in the country and in the world.
The path that crosses the garden and climbs to the base of the flag is surrounded by olive trees in memory of the murdered residents of the Moshav and in memory of all those murdered and fallen on October 7th and in the “Iron Swords” war.
Out of hope, strength and aspiration that the national flag placed in the place where our loved ones were murdered will be seen far and wide - the vision of the flag and the site of Netiv HaTikvah was born.
Moshav Netiv HaAsara has a unique history. The Moshav was originally founded in 1973 on the white sands of the Sinai Peninsula and was characterized by young families driven by a spirit of pioneering and mission. The Moshav is named after the ten people killed in the 1971 helicopter accident north of Al-Arish. As a result of the peace agreement with Egypt, the residents were forced to evacuate Sinai. In 1982, 70 families re-established the Netiv HaAsara community in its current location.
With the evacuation of Gush Katif in 2005, Netiv HaAsara became the closest town to the border of the Gaza Strip, and therefore the most threatened. The community has faced continuous terrorist threats, including rocket fire, anti-tank missiles, snipers, tunnels, explosive balloons, and attempts to infiltrate the Moshav. Despite these threats, the community prospered and grew to over 300 families and about 1000 residents.
On October 7, 2023, our community, along with many other communities in the region, faced an unimaginable and unprecedented coordinated terrorist attack from the Gaza Strip designed to destroy our lives, kill, and kidnap as many innocent people as possible.
At 6:29am on October 7, 2023, we woke up to an unusual number of “Tzeva Adom” sirens (rockets warning). At the same time, terrorists fired from an observation post that overlooked Netiv HaAsara. They shot at the observation tower and the sniper system that protected the Moshav. In the meantime, the first terrorists penetrated the Moshav using paragliders and landed at various points in the Moshav.
Amid many gunshots, electricity was cut off in the Moshav and people were locked in their shelters without electricity for long hours. They didn’t even have access to water due to the disconnection of the water pump from the electricity.
The terrorists who landed in Netiv HaAsara came with weapons, grenades, explosive devices and RPGs. They shot everyone they met, burned down a house in the south of the Moshav, threw grenades and explosive devices, and infiltrated houses and protected areas.
During this coordinated invasion, 20 of our dear community members lost their lives and many were injured. Terrorists infiltrated the Moshav and brought with them massive destruction, death, and sorrow. On this day, more than 1,400 residents and soldiers in the south lost their lives, and over 240 of their loved ones were brutally kidnapped.
