The Netiv HaAsara massacre occurred during the

2023 Hamas attack on Israel A series of coordinated attacks, led by the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas, from the Gaza Strip into bordering areas in Israel, commenced on 7 October 2023, a Sabbath day and date of several Jewish holidays. Hamas meticulously pl ...

on 7 October 2023. Thirty-five

Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...

militants, some via paragliders and most via car, attacked

Netiv HaAsara Netiv HaAsara ( he, נְתִיב הָעֲשָׂרָה, ''lit.'' Path of the Ten) is a moshav in southern Israel. Located in the north-west Negev, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof Ashkelon Regional Council. In it had a population of . His ...

, an Israeli

moshav A moshav ( he, מוֹשָׁב, plural ', lit. ''settlement, village'') is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 an ...

close to the

border fence A border barrier is a separation barrier that runs along or near an international border. Such barriers are typically constructed for border control purposes such as curbing illegal immigration, human trafficking, and smuggling. Some such barri ...

. The militants killed at least 20 people, including in some cases members of the same family. Before the massacre, the moshav was home to approximately 900 residents.

Background

Netiv HaAsara, a

founded in 1982, is home to a population of 900. Following the Israeli disengagement from Gaza in 2005, Netiv HaAsara became the closest Israeli community to the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

, situated 100 meters from the Palestinian towns of Beit Lahia and Beit Hanon. Residents in Netiv HaAsara have claimed to witness Hamas militants training.

Attack

As part of the

on the morning of 7 October, 35 Hamas militants infiltrated Netiv HaAsara, 6 on motorized paragliders and the rest in cars through the breached

Gaza–Israel barrier The Gaza–Israel barrier is a border barrier located on the Israeli side of the Gaza–Israel border. The Erez Crossing, in the north of the Gaza Strip, is the only crossing point for people and goods coming from Israel into Gaza; there exists ...

. At the time of the invasion, many residents had fled to their home's safe rooms after the initial rocket barrage at 6am local time. For the first two hours of the invasion, residents did not know that Hamas militants had entered Israeli territory due to the unavailability of power or internet access. The village's security team battled the attackers, and three were killed in the fighting, alongside 21 residents. At some point electricity in the village went out, leaving people trapped in safe rooms without power. After six hours of the residents fighting with the invading Hamas gunmen, the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

arrived in the moshav.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Kenan Reuveni
We Interviewed Them Six Months Ago. Last Week Hamas Murdered Them

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...

, October 15, 2023 {{2023 Israel–Hamas war 2023 massacres of the Israel–Hamas war Terrorist attacks attributed to Palestinian militant groups 21st-century mass murder in Israel 2023 mass shootings in Asia Mass shootings in Israel October 2023 events in Israel Mass kidnappings in the 2020s 2023 Hamas attack on Israel Massacres in Israel during the Israeli–Palestinian conflict

Background

Attack

See also

References

Citations

Bibliography