Nirim massacre

On 7 October 2023, a surprise assault was launched on Israel by Hamas militants coming from the Gaza Strip. One of their targets was Nirim, a kibbutz located in the southern part of Israel, about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from the border with Gaza.[1] At least five kibbutz civilians died, many were injured and an unknown number of civilians were kidnapped and taken hostage to Gaza.

Nirim massacre
Part of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
Native nameהטבח בנירים
LocationNirim, Southern District, Israel
Coordinates31°20′10″N 34°23′42″E
Date7 October 2023 (2023-10-07)
Attack type
Mass shooting, mass murder, war crime
Deaths5+
Injuredmany
Perpetrator Hamas

Background

Kibbutz Nirim is in the northwestern Negev desert near the Gaza Strip. It was established in 1946 by "Nir", a small core team of young Hashomer Hatzair pioneers. Nirim's economy is based on agriculture: Extensive fielded crops, an avocado plantation, greenhouses and milking cows. Approximately 500 people, including around 130 children, live in the kibbutz.[2]

On the morning of 7 October 2023, Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel. Under the cover of thousands of rockets fired at Israel, hundreds of militants infiltrated Israeli communities and military facilities. The militants engaged in firefights with sparse security forces, and advanced to communities, where they shot and killed civilians and kidnapped an estimated 162 people to the Gaza Strip, including women, the elderly and infants.[3]

The attack

In the early hours of October 7, 2023, a group of approximately 20 terrorists armed with assault rifles, grenades, and RPGs 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 standby squad, confronted the terrorists with his M16 rifle. According to the military security coordinator, following this skirmish, they secured a strategic vantage point on a rooftop of a silo. Recognizing their tactical disadvantage, the terrorists ultimately decided to withdraw.[4][5] Additional Nukhba forces arrived on motorcycles and in vans.[6]

While engaged in combat from their position at the rooftop, an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) attack helicopter made contact with the defenders. It was jointly agreed that they would confront the terrorists 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 terrorists' infiltration into the kibbutz, the first IDF ground forces arrived to fight the terrorists. Among the survivors of the massacre was Shai Levy, Mako's military correspondent who stayed in a shelter and covered the sequence of events.[7]

Aftermath

On 15 October, Israel claimed to have killed the Hamas commander Billal Al Kedra, thought to be behind the Nirim attack.[8]

See also

References
  1. Lidman, Melanie. "In a kibbutz down south, where the kids can tell a Hamas 'boom' from an Israeli one". www.timesofisrael.com. Archived from the original on 2021-04-10. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  2. "קיבוץ נירים". www.nirim.co.il. Archived from the original on 2007-06-02. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  3. Murphy, Zoeann; Gerberg, Jon; Berger, Miriam; Shefte, Whitney (13 October 2023). "Survivors of Hamas's rampage in Israel recount the horrors they saw". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 19 October 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  4. "רבשצ היישוב נירים: תפסנו עמדת שליטה, הם הבינו את זה והחליטו לסגת מנירים (We took a commanding position, they realized it and decided to withdraw from Nirim)". 103FM - האזנה לרדיו און ליין (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on 2023-10-17. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  5. "4 תושבי נירים מול עשרות מחבלים: "לא האמנו שנשרוד" - וואלה! חדשות". וואלה! (in Hebrew). 2023-10-16. Archived from the original on 2023-10-21. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  6. "4 תושבי נירים מול עשרות מחבלים: "לא האמנו שנשרוד" - וואלה! חדשות". וואלה! (in Hebrew). 2023-10-16. Archived from the original on 2023-10-21. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  7. "החייל הראשון נכנס לקיבוץ ב-13:41. 7 שעות מתחילת האירוע". mako. 2023-10-12. Archived from the original on 2023-10-15. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  8. "Israel kills Hamas kibbutz attack mastermind". The Telegrah.
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