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Nir Oz attack

On 7 October 2023, as part of the surprise attack on Israel, Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip, led by Hamas, invaded the Nir Oz kibbutz in southern Israel. They killed scores of kibbutz residents, burned homes, and abducted civilians.[5] According to the Israeli military, up to 150 militants participated in the massacre.[6]

Nir Oz massacre
Part of the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel
Exterior of home in kibbutz after the 7 October attack
Nir Oz is located in the Gaza Strip
Nir Oz
Nir Oz
class=notpageimage|
Site of the attack in Israel
Native nameהטבח בניר עוז
LocationNir Oz, Southern District, Israel
Date7 October 2023; 13 months ago (2023-10-07)
Attack type
Mass shooting, mass murder, war crime
Deaths46 deaths[1][2]
Injured71 taken hostage[2]
PerpetratorHamas's Southern Khan Yunis Battalion[3][4]

Per The New York Times, it was thought that 180 of the roughly 400 residents were killed or abducted as hostages during the attack.[7] The Jerusalem Post also estimated 80 abductions in Nir Oz.[8] An account by veteran war correspondent Itai Anghel reported that "around a quarter of the people of Nir Oz were assassinated, kidnapped, or injured in a very severe way. Those who survived have no place to come back to."[9]

Background

Main article: Nir Oz

The Nir Oz (Hebrew: נִיר עֹז, ניר עוז), is a kibbutz in southern Israel between Magen and Nirim and was founded on 1 October 1955 as the Nahal settlement.[10] Due to its proximity to the Gaza Strip, the kibbutz has seen constant attacks from the Gaza Strip, and in a 2023 book it was reported that the kibbutz had a number of "self-contained bomb shelters, each weighing 67 tons".[11] Nir Oz is a kibbutz located in the Gaza envelope, less than 7 kilometers from the border with the Gaza Strip. On October 6, before the attack, Nir Oz had 427 residents.[8]

Attack

 
Exterior of burned home and landscaping in kibbutz after the attack

The attack on Israel started at around 6:30 a.m. Israel Summer Time (UTC+3), and by 7:00 a.m., the first Hamas militants had reached the kibbutz. Hamas was firing rockets at Israel at the time of the attack, meaning many kibbutz residents were in their safe rooms as the attack began.[7] The kibbutz security team attempted to fight off the attack, yet were outnumbered by the amount of Hamas and other militants that had entered the kibbutz. The majority of the kibbutz's security team were killed or taken hostage while attempting to defend the kibbutz.[12][13] One armed resident, Yaron Maor, a veteran of the IDF's Givati Brigade, managed to single-handedly hold off attacks on his home, shooting two militants who entered the house and additional ones nearby.[14][15]

 
Interior of burned home in the kibbutz after the attack on 7 October

Members of the military wing of Hamas, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, then spent several hours in the kibbutz, killing civilians, abducting hostages, and setting fires to homes inside the kibbutz.[6] A sister received an WhatsApp message from her brother; Yonatan Siman Tov, in the kibbutz that "They're here, they're burning us, we're suffocating." Siman Tov and his mother, wife and three children were all killed in their safe room.[16]

An amateur Palestinian journalist also entered Nir Oz and recorded a live stream of the unfolding events.[6] A surviving member of the kibbutz told reporters that allegedly Palestinian civilians from Gaza also arrived in Nir Oz to loot residents' homes. While in their safe rooms they had reportedly heard people speaking Arabic moving around their homes, after the Hamas militants had left.[17]

A subsequent military investigation found that the IDF failed to properly assess and respond to the situation at Nir Oz, sending troops to nearby communities under attack. At 10:30 AM, a tank arrived at Nir Oz and fired two shells at looters in the kibbutz, but the crew did not understand the magnitude of the situation and moved on towards Nirim. A force of Sayeret Matkal special forces soldiers was subsequently dispatched to Nir Oz but they encountered a group of 15 militants at a road junction and in the subsequent clash an officer was killed at about 11:00 AM. After the firefight, the force was redirected towards Re'im. At 11:30 AM, an Israeli Air Force attack helicopter was dispatched to the area and fired at a tractor being used to transport eight hostages from Nir Oz in the area between Nir Oz and Nirim, killing the militants on board as well as hostage Efrat Katz. More militants subsequently arrived with another tractor to collect the surviving hostages. One hostage, Naamit Dekel-Chen, avoided abduction by pretending to be dead. The remaining hostages were recaptured and taken to Gaza. Meanwhile, the helicopter moved on to other tasks. Also at around 11:30 AM, two commando companies from the Egoz Unit were dispatched towards Nir Oz and Kissufim but they encountered militants along the way and battled them before being diverted to other tasks without the IDF Southern Command having been notified.[18][19]

At about 1:30 PM, Israel Border Police reinforcements arrived in Nir Oz, and at about the same time it was realized that the Egoz troops dispatched to Nir Oz had not arrived. Shayetet 13 commandos were then sent to the kibbutz by helicopter, arriving at 2:20 PM. The militants and looters had left by then.[18] The surviving kibbutz members were evacuated to Eilat.[20]

Casualties and hostages

According to The Forward, 46 people were killed in the kibbutz during the attack.[2] Hamas militants killed the Israeli-American Kedem-Siman Tov family in their secure room at the kibbutz, including three adults and three children under the age of seven.[21][22] BBC Verify reported that some social media users denied that the Kedem-Siman Tov family had been killed.[23] The killing of Bracha Levinson, an elderly woman from Nir Oz, was reportedly filmed and posted on her Facebook wall by Hamas.[24][25]

It was initially assumed that a 12-year-old girl with autism named Noya Dan and her 80-year-old grandmother Carmela Dan were among the Hamas hostages. Noya Dan was reportedly a fan of Harry Potter, and author JK Rowling advocated for her release.[26] On 19 October 2023, the bodies of both Noya and Carmela Dan were discovered by the Israeli Defense Forces in Gaza, near the Israeli border.[27][28][29]

Hostages

 
The burnt exterior of the home of Tal Shalu, who was considered missing before being declared dead on 8 November. His missing poster was hung from the home

Many kibbutz residents were taken hostage during the attack. According to The Forward, 71 hostages were taken from the kibbutz, with 40 being released during the weeklong ceasefire in late November.[2] 12 of the 13 Israeli hostages and all 11 Israeli hostages released on November 24 and November 27 respectively were taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz.[30][31] Prominent abductees from Nir Oz include Polish-Israeli historian Alex Dancyg and Israeli journalist Oded Lifshitz. Both men are elderly.[32][33][34] The Argentinian-Israeli Bibas family was also kidnapped from Nir Oz and became prominent due to the circumstances of their abduction, with 9-month old baby Kfir Bibas being the youngest abductee.[35]

Some of the hostages died in captivity. On December 1, 2023, it was announced by the Israel Defense Forces that four kibbutz Nir Oz residents had died in captivity.[36] Israeli-American-Canadian couple Judi and Gadi Haggai were believed to have been captured by Hamas and being held in Gaza. It was reported on December 28, 2023, that Judi had been fatally wounded during the attack and her husband had been announced as deceased about a week prior. As of December 29, 2023, their bodies are still being held in Gaza.[37]

An Israeli inquiry into the events analyzed video footage and witness testimonies. The findings indicated that an Israeli helicopter gunship targeted a vehicle containing hostages, manned by militants, resulting in the likely death of an Israeli hostage named Efrat Katz by friendly fire.[38]

Aftermath

Survivors of the attack were evacuated by the Israeli government into hotels in Eilat shortly after the 7 October attack, however some have returned to the kibbutz.[39] A deceased families grandmother approached Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, during a chance meeting at the kibbutz after the attack, told Gallant that the corrupt government had failed the residents of the kibbutz due to a lack of warning for civilians.[40]

In February 2024 Argentinian President Javier Milei and Israeli President Isaac Herzog, toured the kibbutz during Milei's bilateral visit to Israel. At the kibbutz Milei reflected on the Argentinian-Israeli Bibas family still held hostage and the met with the parents of Argentinian-Israeli hostages still held.[41]

Those who still reside in or visited the kibbutz have tied yellow ribbons on trees and marked the mailboxes inside the dining hall with colored stickers to show a residents status; red for deceased, black for hostages, and blue for released individuals. Posters from the Kidnapped from Israel campaign are posted on the homes of hostages.[39]

See also

References

  1. ^ IDF says preparing for ‘attack from the air, sea and land’ in Gaza Retrieved 15 October 2023 Ynet Archived 14 October 2023 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ a b c d Rudoren, Jodi (7 December 2023). "Red stickers for killed, black for kidnapped: Bearing witness to the massacre at Kibbutz Nir Oz". The Forward. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  3. ^ Fabian, Emanuel (15 October 2023). "IDF says it killed Hamas commander who led murderous attacks on Nirim, Nir Oz". 21 November 2023. Archived from the original on 22 December 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  4. ^ "Israel kills Hamas commanders responsible for attacks in Kibbutz Nirim, Nir Oz". Business Today. 15 October 2023. Archived from the original on 21 November 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  5. ^ Rasgon, Adam (8 October 2023). "A Father Reckons with the Hostage-Taking of His Family in Southern Israel". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  6. ^ a b c Hinnant, Lori; McNeil, Sam (5 December 2023). "'We are officially hostages.' How the Israeli kibbutz of Nir Oz embodied Hamas' hostage strategy". AP News. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  7. ^ a b Blumenfeld, David; Hoomash, Carmit; Eaton, Alexandra; Throop, Noah; Reneau, Natalie (15 October 2023). "Video: 'A Day of Horror:' Kibbutz Massacre Survivors Recount Hamas Attack". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 15 October 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  8. ^ a b Lampert, Nicole (12 October 2023). "Nir Oz members: Our kibbutz 'woke up to a massacre, a second Holocaust'". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  9. ^ Zitser, Joshua (12 October 2023). "War correspondent says horror at Israel kibbutz reminds him of ISIS". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  10. ^ Hoare, Liam (August 2013). "Southern Kibbutzim, Under Fire and Losing Faith". The Tower. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  11. ^ Fergusson, James (2023). In Search of the River Jordan: A Story of Palestine, Israel and the Struggle for Water. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press. pp. 251 (eucalyptus, desalination, irrigation, bomb shelters), 253 (Thai agricultural workers). ISBN 978-0-300-26270-4. LCCN 2023930267.
  12. ^ Harris, Mary (16 December 2023). "When the Israeli Hostages Came Home, His Son Didn't". Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  13. ^ "Taken captive: Tamir Adar, part of Nir Oz squad, held off terrorists". The Times of Israel. 30 October 2023. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  14. ^ חיסל מחבלים - וכמעט נהרג בידי כוח צה"ל: הסיפור המטורף של ירון מניר עוז
  15. ^ "Israeli hero Yaron Maor defends kibbutz against Hamas alone". Archived from the original on 21 August 2024. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  16. ^ Israeli woman recalls speaking with her family as they were killed by Hamas | CNN. 11 October 2023. Archived from the original on 29 March 2024. Retrieved 29 March 2024 – via edition.cnn.com.
  17. ^ Marks Eglash, Ruth (17 November 2023). "Kibbutz Nir Oz, where Hamas' mass terror attack became personal". Jewish Insider. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  18. ^ a b "הפיקוד לא הבין את תמונת המצב: עיקרי תחקיר ניר עוז". Archived from the original on 21 July 2024. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  19. ^ "ניר עוז - הקרב שלא קרה ב-7 באוקטובר: "הופקרנו"". Archived from the original on 1 September 2024. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  20. ^ Klingbail, Sivan (10 October 2023). "My Kibbutz Was Erased: I Never Imagined I'd Write This". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  21. ^ "Terrorists murdered entire young family sheltering in Kibbutz Nir Oz saferoom". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  22. ^ McShane, Asher (13 October 2023). "'They're here. They're burning us. We're suffocating': Horrific final texts of Israeli-American parents murdered by Hamas". LBC. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  23. ^ Spring, Marianna (25 October 2023). "Omer and Omar: How two 4-year-olds were killed and social media denied it". BBC Verify. Archived from the original on 25 October 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  24. ^ Jones, Sam (10 October 2023). "'Murdered in cold blood': stories emerge of Israelis killed at Gaza border". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  25. ^ Carroll, Katherine; Schwartz, Arielle; Shapiro, Emily (13 October 2023). "Grandson recounts seeing graphic video of beloved grandmother killed by Hamas terrorists". ABC News. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  26. ^ Greyman-Kennard, Danielle (19 October 2023). "J.K. Rowling pays respects to 12-year-old Harry Potter fan murdered by Hamas". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 19 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  27. ^ "Israeli girl, 12, whose photo went viral found dead with her grandmother". I24news. 19 October 2023. Archived from the original on 19 October 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  28. ^ "Bodies said found of autistic girl Noya Dan, 12, and grandmother; were thought to be hostages". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 19 October 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  29. ^ Schwartz, Penny (30 October 2023). "A Harry Potter fan's murder reverberates from Israel to Boston". The Forward. Archived from the original on 30 October 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  30. ^ Fabian, Emanuel; Magid, Jacob (24 November 2023). "13 Israelis, including 4 kids, back in Israel after held hostage in Gaza for 49 days". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 2 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  31. ^ "11 Israeli Hostages Are Released". The New York Times. 27 November 2023. Archived from the original on 28 November 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  32. ^ "Friends of historian seized by Hamas terrorists launch appeal for his return". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  33. ^ m, a (13 October 2023). "International Outcry Mounts as Polish-Israeli Historian Abducted by Hamas: Appeal for Safe Return". PolandDaily24.com. Archived from the original on 19 October 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  34. ^ "Taken captive: Oded Lifshitz, drove Gazans to hospitals". The Times of Israel. 23 October 2023. Archived from the original on 18 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  35. ^ Davis, Barney (15 October 2023). "Family share heartbreaking footage of nine-month-old baby and four-year-old boy who were abducted by Hamas". The Independent. Archived from the original on 3 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  36. ^ "Army: 4 Nir Oz residents abducted in Oct. 7 onslaught died in Hamas captivity". The Times of Israel. 1 December 2023. Archived from the original on 2 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  37. ^ Davies, Alys (28 December 2023). "Judi Haggai: US-Canadian confirmed killed by Hamas". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2 January 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  38. ^ "Israeli inquiry finds Oct 7 hostage likely killed by friendly fire". Reuters. 5 April 2024. Archived from the original on 6 May 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  39. ^ a b Rudoren, Jodi (7 December 2023). "Red stickers for killed, black for kidnapped: Bearing witness to the massacre at Kibbutz Nir Oz". The Forward. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  40. ^ "Gallant stands in silence as bereaved Nir Oz grandmother demands: 'Where were you?'". The Times of Israel. 11 January 2024. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  41. ^ "Argentina's Milei sees echoes of Holocaust on visit to shattered kibbutz". The Times of Israel. 8 February 2024. Archived from the original on 29 March 2024. Retrieved 29 March 2024.

31°18′37″N 34°24′8″E / 31.31028°N 34.40222°E / 31.31028; 34.40222

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