Holit massacre
The Holit massacre is a massacre perpetrated by Hamas militants on 7 October 2023 in the kibbutz Holit in the Negev district of southern Israel, as part of the surprise attack on Israel. The attack took the lives of at least 11 kibbutz members and two migrant workers.[1] Among the casualties were at least two American citizens.[2]
Holit massacre | |
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Part of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war | |
![]() ![]() Holit Site of the attack in Israel | |
Native name | הטבח בחולית |
Location | Holit, Southern District, Israel |
Coordinates | 31°13′48″N 34°19′36″E |
Date | 7 October 2023 |
Attack type | Mass shooting, mass murder, war crime |
Deaths | At least 13 |
Perpetrator | ![]() |
Background
The kibbutz was established in 1977 in the Sinai and was transferred to the Negev as part of the 1982 Egypt–Israel peace treaty. The kibbutz had 84 members before the 2023 massacre.
Massacre
In the early morning of October 7th 2023, Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, firing thousands of rockets. During this time, more than 1,500 Hamas militants crossed the border into Israel and launched attacks on Israeli towns and military bases.[3] Residents of the kibbutz say the attack on Holit started at around 8AM. Hamas militants moved from house to house, killing at least 11 civilians and injuring many more.
On October 11th, four days after the attack, Hamas released a video alleging to show kibbutz member Avital Aladjem freed that very day by Hamas at Gaza's border along with her neighbor's two small children. Aladjem contradicted this claim and described how on the day of the attack itself, the abductors left them unsupervised inside Gaza, and how she managed to walk back to Holit, taking the two children with her. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) called the footage broadcast by Al Jazeera, who adopted the Hamas narrative, "propaganda" aimed at deflecting public scrutiny from the atrocities commited by the group.[4]
References
- צורי, מתן (8 October 2023). "פורסמו שמותיהם של נרצחי קיבוץ חולית". Ynet (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on 15 October 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
- Bogel-Burroughs, Nicholas; Yazbek, Hiba; Gavrielov, Nadav (10 October 2023). "What We Know About the Americans Who Were Missing or Killed". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 17 October 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
- Fabian, Emanuel. "Bodies of around 1,500 dead terrorists in Israel — report". www.timesofisrael.com. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
- ToI Staff; Steinberg, Jessica. "IDF says Hamas video purporting to show 3 hostages being released is propaganda". www.timesofisrael.com. Archived from the original on 17 October 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.