On 7 October 2023, around 70 Hamas militants attacked Kfar Aza, a kibbutz about 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) from the border with the Gaza Strip, massacring residents and abducting several hostages.
| Kfar Aza massacre | |
|---|---|
| Part of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war | |
 A home in Kfar Aza displaying gunshot marks in the aftermath of the massacre | |
  Kfar Aza Site of the attack in Israel | |
| Location | Kfar Aza, Southern District, Israel |
| Coordinates | 31°29′1″N 34°32′2″E / 31.48361°N 34.53389°E |
| Date | 7 October 2023 |
Attack type | Mass shooting, mass murder, decapitation (alleged), dismemberment, immolation |
| Deaths | 52 confirmed deaths; 20+ missing[1] |
| Perpetrator |  Hamas |
The kibbutz had 400 residents prior to the attack, and it took two days for the Israel Defense Forces to wrest back full control of the community.[2][3][4] While the exact total of Israelis killed is yet unknown, as of 15 October, 52 are listed as dead, and a further 20 or more missing.[5][6]
The attack is notable for claims of brutality in the form of beheadings,[2] dismemberment, and victims having been burned alive.[7] There has been controversy regarding unconfirmed claims by Israeli sources that babies were decapitated.[3][8][9]
Massacre
About 70 Hamas gunmen broke through a fence and gained access to the kibbutz on the morning of 7 October 2023.[10] After entering the kibbutz, which was 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) from Gaza, the militants proceeded to massacre residents of the community.[10] The Islamist militants began by targeting the west side of the community—an area in the kibbutz close to Gaza - where families with young children lived.[11][12] Fifty two people at the kibbutz are known to have been killed.[5]
Members of the kibbutz with military training, who formed a volunteer armed guard, fought against invading militants in an attempt to defend the community.[12] All were killed. Hamas militants broadened the attack to all four directions.[11] Invading militants burned houses and killed civilian residents.[13][14][15] Corpses of those who had lived in the community were found with their hands tied.[15]
In addition, the militants took hostages from the kibbutz.[16][17] The Associated Press visually confirmed four hostages who were abducted on 7 October.[18] The militants took women, children and senior citizens among the hostages back to Gaza.[19]
Israeli Major General Itai Veruv described the massacre as a terror attack.[16]
Prior to the massacre, the community had 400 residents. It took the Israel Defense Forces two and a half days to regain full control of the community after the initial attack.[12] The paratroopers of Unit 71 led the assault to retake the community,[20] and the Duvdevan Unit also responded to the attack.[6]
Journalists were granted access to the site on 10 October 2023.[21][16] Hamas has also released video footage of the attack.[22]
Casualties
According to BBC News, it appears that most of the victims of the massacre died in the opening hours of the attack. As of 10 October 2023[update], soldiers were still going through the community to recover bodies.[23] According to one soldier present, several civilians had been beheaded.[8] Other victims were dismembered or burned.[7] Children and babies were reported to be among the killed.[2][3][4]
Allegations of beheadings
One member of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who had responded to the site said in an interview with i24NEWS that 40 children had been killed, with some beheaded by Hamas.[24][21] CBS News later interviewed Yossi Landau, regional head of the first responder organization ZAKA, who said that both babies and minors had been beheaded alongside corpses of dismembered adults.[2] Landau later stated to Sky News that 80% of the bodies at Kfar Aza and at Be'eri showed signs of torture.[25]
A statement that a number of babies were decapitated was also made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's spokesperson, and the most high-profile claim was repeated by U.S. President Joe Biden, who claimed to have seen photographic evidence for it.[26][27] The White House later denied Biden had seen photographic images, and clarified that he was referring to media reports and statements by Netanyahu.[3][27]
The IDF stated to Insider that they would not investigate the allegation further, asserting that it would be "disrespectful for the dead" to do so.[28] Netanyahu's office released photos of dead babies, saying they were killed and burned in the attack.[29] The Jerusalem Post stated that these images confirmed that babies were decapitated, were shown to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and published by the Prime Minister's office on X (formerly Twitter),[4] while NBC News stated that the claim could not be independently verified and that no photographic evidence that babies were decapitated was provided.[3] CNN reported that claims of beheading could not be confirmed.[9]
The statement that 40 babies had been decapitated gained widespread attention on social media, with over 40 million impressions on X (formerly Twitter), propagated by the Israeli website i24NEWS and the official Israel account. The news made it to the front-page news on almost a dozen British newspapers. NBC News stated that the claim was likely erroneous, and based on the conflation of two separate statements made by IDF soldiers.[3] Nevertheless, the reporter from i24NEWS maintains her stance, affirming that she personally witnessed the gruesome scenes.[30]
Survivors
Ziv Stahl, executive director of the human rights organization Yesh Din, survived the massacre and later, in an article for Haaretz, strongly opposed calls to exact revenge, arguing that,'Indiscriminate bombing in Gaza and the killing of civilians uninvolved with these horrible crimes are no solution.'[31]
Another survivor, Avidor Schwartzman, described how he hid with his wife and one year-old daughter in their safe room for over 20 hours until their rescue by Israeli soldiers.
"There were bodies everywhere. Dead bodies everywhere," the 38-year-old said. "We saw our little piece of paradise, our little piece of heaven, was totally burnt – burnt and with blood everywhere."[32]
See also
References
- ^ "IDF: Dozens of rockets fired from Lebanon, at least nine crossed into Israeli territory". 14 October 2023. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2023 – via www.ynetnews.com.
- ^ a b c d Williams, Holly; Lyall, Erin (11 October 2023). "Israel kibbutz the scene of a Hamas "massacre," first responders say: "The depravity of it is haunting" – CBS News". CBS News. Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f Tenbarge, Kat; Chan, Melissa (12 October 2023). "Unverified reports of '40 babies beheaded' in Israel-Hamas war inflame social media". NBC News. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
- ^ a b c Joffre, Tzvi (12 October 2023). "Photos of babies being burnt, decapitated confirmed". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
- ^ a b Tzuri, Matan (15 October 2023). "A quarter of the residents of Nir Oz are either dead or missing". Ynet.
- ^ a b Spencer, Richard (13 October 2023). "They came at dawn: inside the Kfar Aza kibbutz massacre". The Times. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
- ^ a b Anidjar, Patrick (16 October 2023). "'Never seen such barbarity': the grim task of Israel's forensics teams". Yahoo News. Agence France-Presse. Archived from the original on 22 October 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
- ^ a b "What we actually know about the viral report of beheaded babies in Israel". Sky News. 12 October 2023. Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
- ^ a b Chance, Matthew; Greene, Richard Allen; Berlinger, Joshua (12 October 2023). "Israeli official says government cannot confirm babies were beheaded in Hamas attack". CNN. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
- ^ a b Lubell, Maayan (10 October 2023). "Insight: How an Israeli kibbutz 'paradise' turned into hell in Hamas attack". Reuters. Archived from the original on 10 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ^ a b Pfeffer, Anshel (10 October 2023). "Bitterness and fury at the kibbutz where babies had their throats cut". The Times. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ^ a b c Hendrix, Steve (10 October 2023). "Scenes from a massacre: Inside an Israeli town destroyed by Hamas". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ^ Hutchinson, Bill (10 October 2023). "Mom says sons snatched by Hamas while on the phone with her". ABC News. Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
- ^ "Smell of death fills Israeli kibbutz where civilians were slain". France 24. Agence France-Presse. 10 October 2023. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
- ^ a b Oliphant, Roland; Vasilyeva, Nataliya (10 October 2023). "Babies killed in Hamas attacks on kibbutz as death toll passes 1,000". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ^ a b c Lubell, Maayan (10 October 2023). "Bodies of residents and militants lie in the grounds of ravaged Israeli kibbutz". Reuters. Archived from the original on 10 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ^ Logan, Nick (10 October 2023). "Why Hamas took so many people hostage — and how that complicates Israel's response". CBC News. Archived from the original on 10 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ^ Federman, Josef; Adwan, Issam (7 October 2023). "Hamas surprise attack out of Gaza stuns Israel and leaves hundreds dead in fighting, retaliation". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
- ^ Logan, Nick (10 October 2023). "Why Hamas took so many people hostage — and how that complicates Israel's response". CBC News. Archived from the original on 10 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ^ Bowen, Jeremy (10 October 2023). "Inside Kfar Aza where Hamas militants killed families in their homes". BBC News. Archived from the original on 10 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ^ a b Berman, Lazar (10 October 2023). "'At least 40 babies killed': Foreign reporters taken to massacre site in Kfar Aza". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ^ "Israel-Hamas War: Video shows Hamas militants attack on Kfar Aza kibbutz". Sky News. 10 October 2023. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
- ^ Emergui, Sal (10 October 2023). "Kfar Aza, el kibutz donde Hamas asesinó a 40 bebés". El Mundo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ^ Zedek, Nicole (10 October 2023). "'It smells of death here': Surveying the atrocities committed by Hamas in Kfar Aza". i24 News. Archived from the original on 10 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- ^ "Israel-Gaza war: Recovered bodies show 'bloodthirsty' gunmen 'took time over torture' – and that Hamas has changed". Sky News. Archived from the original on 15 October 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
- ^ Joshi, Joy (13 October 2023). "Israel-Hamas war: How the unverified claim about beheaded babies spread — 'Same misinformation, different war'". Yahoo! News Canada. Archived from the original on 22 October 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
- ^ a b Speri, Alice (11 October 2023). ""Beheaded babies" report spread wide and fast — but israel military won't confirm it". The Intercept. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
- ^ Zitser, Joshua (11 October 2023). "IDF says it won't back up its claim that Hamas decapitated babies in Israel because it is 'disrespectful for the dead'". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
- ^ Spiro, Amy (12 October 2023). "Netanyahu's office releases horrifying images of infants murdered by Hamas". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
- ^ "I wish that it wasn't true: War correspondent stands by report of beheadings of Israeli babies". WION. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
- ^ Noy, Orly (25 October 2023). "Listen to Israeli survivors: They don't want revenge". +972 Magazine.
- ^ Lubell, Maayan; Rose, Emily (12 October 2023). "How an Israeli kibbutz 'paradise' turned into hell in Hamas attack". Reuters. Retrieved 31 October 2023.