Kan 11’s ‘Kfar Aza – 95% Heaven’: Trauma and Rebuilding

The new Kan 11 documentary series follows the experiences of several families who lost close relatives in the massacre and who have no easy path forward. The first episode starts just after October.

By Hannah Brown, Published on The Jerusalem Post | October 25, 2025

As the fragile ceasefire continues, those displaced from their homes on both sides of the border are trying to figure out where to go, and a Kan 11 documentary series, Kfar Aza – 95% Heaven by Karin Kainer, focuses on the experiences of residents of a single kibbutz in the Gaza border region. The series is available at kan.org.il and was produced by Paramount’s Ananey Studios.

The name Kibbutz Kfar Aza is now synonymous with the horrors of the October 7 massacre by Hamas and the failure of the Israeli government to act promptly and decisively to save its residents: Out of the approximately 800 people who were there that day, 64 were murdered and 18 were kidnapped. Three days passed before the kibbutz was completely cleared of terrorists by the army.

The series follows the experiences of several families who lost close relatives in the massacre and who have no easy path forward. The first episode starts just after October 7, as families look through the wreckage of their loved ones’ apartments, searching for photos and objects left intact that are not covered in too much blood to pick up and, in a daze, take part in tours of the area to show what happened.

One family who plays a major part in the series are the Epsteins, who lost their son, Netta, killed when he jumped on a grenade to save his fiancée. We see his mother, Ayelet Shahar Epstein, as she tries to cope in the weeks following his death, having to tell work acquaintances what has happened in telephone calls and trying her best to get through each day. She and her husband, Uri, recall growing up on the kibbutz, and home movies from the 1970s are shown, in which children run freely, and it looks closer to 100% heaven.

But once Hamas took over in Gaza, missile attacks became increasingly frequent and the kibbutz clinic doled out medications, even to children, to help them deal with anxiety. It’s chilling to see footage of how they coped with the missile attacks over the years, but many clung to the feeling that the community life of the kibbutz was worth that 5% hell they endured.

For most, that feeling shifted after October 7. As the kibbutz struggled to decide whether – and where to move as a group – some residents went their own way. Ayelet felt she could never return and wanted to live as far away as possible, while her husband, the kibbutz’s business manager, felt compelled to help rebuild it and, eventually, was elected head of the Sha’ar Negev council. Yonatan Shamriz, the brother of hostage Alon Shamriz, who was mistakenly killed by the IDF after escaping his captors in December 2023, turned to activism and helped organize the commemoration ceremony that was run independently of the government.

Still, no matter what path the residents take, the kibbutz still holds a place in their hearts and minds, and Kfar Aza is presented as a microcosm of a society that has lost faith in its country’s leadership, but that still insists on clinging to life.