On the edge of the Be'eri kibbutz, Galit Carbone's home is empty.
Her brother, Danny Majzner, takes us inside. Walking across the dusty floors, he takes us to the safe room door. You can see where the bullet holes have been patched up.
Turning on the light, he pauses for a moment. This is where his sister spent her final, terrifying minutes, and the emotional toll it takes on him is clear as he sighs. She was 66 years old when she was killed, remembered as a loving grandmother and the only Australian to die in Hamas' horrific October 7 attacks.
Yet like many of the kibbutz residents, Danny knew he would return. He was one of the first to do so and looks forward to when the younger families with children do the same next year.
"If we don't come back here, they win, and for us, it's a triumph of coming back and building this community once again," he explains.
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The Israel Defense Forces estimates 340 Hamas militants infiltrated the kibbutz during the October 7 attack on northern Israel in 2023, killing 101 civilians, around 10 per cent of the population, as well as 31 Israeli security personnel.
Another 32 people were abducted and taken back into Gaza as hostages.
Damage to property was significant, with around a third of homes destroyed.
The kibbutz covers a big area, so the community’s chairman, Gal Cohen, takes me on a golf cart tour.
There's plenty of construction underway: newly built homes away from where the attacks mostly took place. That land was cleared, save for one property that will be kept for when Israel opens an October 7 museum. It will remind visitors of what happened that day.
Gal's job is to bring the community back to life.
The kibbutz is getting a new start, and he hopes Israel will too , starting with the removal of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"I didn't like him before, and I especially don't like him after. I don't like the way he creates him between us, between the people of Israel."
Israel's subsequent war on Gaza has killed more than 74,000 people and wounded 175,000, according to the local health ministry.
Many residents have taken a step to the right politically in the three years since October 7.
"The atrocities of October gave us a huge slap and made us realise that the [Israeli] Labor, the left parties are not our solution," says Danny.
"You ask everyone on the kibbutz and 99 per cent will say no two-state solution. Ask me 10 years ago? Yeah, for sure. Let's do it."
But supporting the right does not mean supporting the prime minister. Danny will be voting for one of the more conservative parties from the Change bloc, hoping to see accountability for the security failures that led to his sister's death.
"Let's say 20,000 Canadians invade America from the north and they kill 40,000 people. Will the government survive a week, a month? I don't know. Will the people let the leader stay at the helm? In any normal Western country it can never happen. And yet it's still happening here, unfortunately."
The promise of an independent inquiry by opposition parties, which Netanyahu has rejected, is something survivors here strongly support.
"Not for the families, for the country, for the people, for this society. I think it's a process that we must go through."
Yet further along the Gaza border, views are very different.
Sderot was the site of fierce gun battles during the October 7 attack, with Hamas fighters taking control of the police station and 53 people losing their lives.
For months after, it was under constant rocket fire from Gaza.
Before the war, this was Netanyahu territory, and still is.
"We’re Bibist, and we’ll remain Bibists. We don’t replace our leader," shouts Danny Eqdahim, who rides past on a mobility scooter plastered with Netanyahu stickers.
"To be honest, right now, Bibi is the only one I can see," market stall seller Shulamit says.
"His wisdom, his intelligence. Everything about him is bigger than he is."
The prime minister’s handling of the war, the hostage negotiations and Israel’s global image are praised here.
Pensioner Zion Cohen stops us to explain his support for the Israeli leader.
"Over the past three years, I think Netanyahu has demonstrated tremendous leadership — militarily, politically, and diplomatically, especially now that Trump is backing him. What could be stronger than that? Trump is now standing by his side and wants Bibi alongside him to finish the job."
Two border communities, two very different opinions on who should lead Israel in the post-October 7 era .
