Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu is weighing designating some homes in Kibbutz Be’eri near the Gaza border that were ruined on October 7, 2023, as national heritage sites, his office has indicated, days after residents voted to demolish all but one of them.

Kibbutz members held the vote this week, over two years after the attacks that caused severe damage to the kibbutz. The decision to demolish the homes passed 196 to 146.

Be’eri was the hardest-hit community in Hamas’s October 7 onslaught. In all, 101 civilians and 31 security personnel were killed in Be’eri — a community of around 1,000 residents — and a further 30 residents and two additional civilians were taken hostage from there by the Hamas terrorists. Many dozens of homes in the community were damaged and destroyed amid the fighting.

Channel 12 reported Wednesday that Eliyahu was considering the use of a clause in the Antiquities Law allowing him to designate a structure of more modern construction for preservation if it is of historic significance.

Eliyahu, in his capacity as heritage minister, has the authority to grant a building built after 1700 as a heritage site if it has clear historical significance.

Asked for comment, Eliyahu’s office released a statement Thursday that tacitly confirmed the move was being........

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