On 7 October 2023, a surprise assault was launched on Israel by

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 coming from 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.. ...

. One of their targets was Nirim, a

kibbutz A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...

located in the southern part of Israel, about from the border with Gaza. At least five kibbutz civilians died, many were injured and an unknown number of civilians were kidnapped and taken hostage to Gaza.

Background

Kibbutz Nirim is in the northwestern

Negev The Negev or Negeb (; he, הַנֶּגֶב, hanNegév; ar, ٱلنَّقَب, an-Naqab) is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southe ...

desert near the Gaza Strip. It was established in 1946 by "Nir", a small core team of young

Hashomer Hatzair Hashomer Hatzair ( he, הַשׁוֹמֵר הַצָעִיר, , ''The Young Guard'') is a Labor Zionist, secular Jewish youth movement founded in 1913 in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Austria-Hungary, and it was also the name of the group ...

pioneers. Nirim's economy is based on agriculture: Extensive fielded crops, an

avocado The avocado (''Persea americana'') is a medium-sized, evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It is native to the Americas and was first domesticated by Mesoamerican tribes more than 5,000 years ago. Then as now it was prized for i ...

plantation, greenhouses and milking cows. Approximately 500 people, including around 130 children, live in the kibbutz.

The attack

As part of 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 ...

, in the early hours of October 7, 2023, a group of approximately 20 militants armed with assault rifles, grenades, and rocket propelled grenades arrived at Kibbutz Nirim. They set houses ablaze, opened fire on homes, and hurled grenades. Corporal Amit Levy, a police officer who was on leave at the time, heard the gunfire and joined some members of the kibbutz's standby squad, fighting the militants with his M16 rifle. According to the , following this skirmish, Levy and members of the standby squad secured a strategic vantage point on a rooftop of a silo. Recognizing their tactical disadvantage, the terrorists ultimately decided to withdraw. Additional

Nukhba ''Nukhba'' () is an Arabic word meaning 'elite'. It may refer to various groups: * An-Nukhba al-Shabwaniyya, the Shabwani Elite, a military unit in Yemen * Jaysh al-Nukhba, a military unit in Syria * Nukhba (Hamas), Nukhba, a Hamas special forces ...

forces arrived on motorcycles and in vans. Early in the attack, a group of three IDF soldiers led by Colonel

Asaf Hamami Asaf Hamami ( he, אסף חממי. December 2, 1982 – October 7, 2023) was an IDF officer with the rank of colonel, serving as the commander of the Southern Brigade in the Gaza Strip. Prior to that, he served as the commander of the Negev Briga ...

entered the kibbutz and battled the Hamas fighters. All three were killed and their bodies were taken to the Gaza Strip. While engaged in combat from their position at the rooftop, an

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 ...

(IDF)

attack helicopter An attack helicopter is an armed helicopter with the primary role of an attack aircraft, with the offensive capability of engaging ground targets such as enemy infantry, military vehicles and fortifications. Due to their heavy armament they ...

made contact with the defenders. It was jointly agreed that they would confront the militants within the kibbutz, while the helicopter would carry out airstrikes on targets in proximity to the fence and beyond. This intense engagement from the tower persisted for approximately two hours. About seven hours after the militants' infiltration into the kibbutz, IDF troops arrived to clear out the militants. Among the survivors of the massacre was Shai Levy, Mako's military correspondent who stayed in a shelter and covered the sequence of events.

Aftermath

Nirim members who survived the attack were evacuated by the IDF from the kibbutz. The majority currently reside temporarily in a hotel in Eilat. On 15 October, IDF soldiers reportedly killed Billal al-Qedra, the commander of the Hamas' Nukhba unit in southern Khan Younis battalion who led the operation in Nirim. On 28 November, two Nirim members, who were held as hostages for 53 days in Gaza by Hamas, were returned to Israel. They were returned as part of as part of a deal between Israel and Hamas. At least two more Nirim members are still held by Hamas.

References

{{2023 Israel–Hamas war Attacks in 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

Background

The attack

Aftermath

See also

References