Gaza Border and Nova Festival Memorial Small Group Tour
Description
Journey from Jerusalem or Tel Aviv to the Gaza border and visit areas affected by the October 7th events. Stop at a southern kibbutz, learn about moments of courage and loss, and honor fallen “female observers” at Nahal Oz. Visit Re’im, once the Nova Festival site, now a memorial, and see roadside bomb shelters where locals sought safety. Pause in Netivot for lunch, and witness torched cars in a local parking lot before concluding at a photo exhibition. The tour is guided by local experts who ensure a sensitive and respectful experience, allowing visitors to learn, reflect, and bear witness to a pivotal moment in Israel’s recent history.
Tour Options
Itinerary
6:15 - Departure from Jerusalem
8:00 - Departure from Tel Aviv
Travel south on Route 232 and learn about the stories that took place along this road Visit a southern kibbutz and tour the area while listening to stories (from kibbutz members)
Reach the Nahal Oz outlook and honor the “female observers”, border surveillance experts who died during the Nahal Oz attack
Arrive in Re’im, the site where the Nova Music Festival was once celebrated. Take a free time for remembrance, reflection, and prayer at the Nova Festival Victims Memorial. After stop at the roadside bomb shelters, where many Israelis sought shelter
Lunch in Netivot
Visit the parking lot where dozens of torched cars remain Brief stop at a photo exhibition
17:30 - Return to Tel Aviv
19:00 - Return to Jerusalem
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Visitor discretion is advised. Given that this tour covers deeply sensitive subject matter, participants are encouraged to prepare themselves emotionally and mentally.
- All participants must be at least 14 years of age.
Reviews(2)
A must. Moving beyond words. Tour guide was very knowledgeable, careful to adhere to established facts and to respect the experiences of survivors, those who did not survive and their loved ones. He prioritized group safety and provided the chance to opt out for those who wished to avoid hearing about the more difficult material. He also prioritized our group’s safety at all times. We became witnesses to the reality of what occurred on October 7, 2023.
Thank you for sharing such a moving reflection. Experiences like this carry real weight, and at Tourist Israel we believe they must be handled with care, accuracy, and deep respect for survivors, for those who were lost, and for their loved ones. We're grateful to hear our guide honored that responsibility, staying faithful to the facts, giving guests the choice to step away from the most difficult moments, and keeping the group's safety and comfort a priority throughout. Bearing witness to history this way is a profound thing, and it reflects everything we mean when we say we care. We're honored to have shared it with you.
I took the Gaza border and Nova festival site small group tour last week and wanted to share my thoughts. This is not a typical tour as much as an inside look at a significant place in Israel and her recent history. Yossi, our tour guide, was excellent, knowledgeable and personable right from the start. He expertly led us the beaches along the border; to the poignant memorial for the Lady Observers; to the Black Arrow site, where so many perished; to the Nova festival and memorial site; to a nearby kibbutz, where almost everyone who lived there on 10/7/23 was either murdered or taken hostage. Yossi, who is on a mission to share this information with the world, related stories of heroism, survival and grief during the course of the day. We ended the tour in Sderot, where there's a memorial at the site of the police station that was burned down. We returned to Tel Aviv in the evening with a deeper understanding of the situation along the Gaza border. This tour is not for everyone, but if you're interested in learning more about the conflict, this is a good place to start.
Thank you for sharing such a meaningful reflection. The Gaza border and Nova site experience is indeed a deeply powerful and complex day, and we are grateful you approached it with such openness. Yossi was carefully selected for his knowledge, sensitivity, and ability to communicate difficult history with balance and humanity. Creating responsible, educational experiences that provide context and understanding is something we take very seriously at Tourist Israel. We appreciate your recommendation and your thoughtful perspective.
