Nir Yitzhak attack | |
---|---|
Part of the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel | |
Native name | הטבח בניר יצחק |
Location | Nir Yitzhak, Southern District, Israel |
Coordinates | 31°14′14″N34°21′26″E / 31.23722°N 34.35722°E |
Date | 7 October 2023 |
Attack type | Mass shooting, mass murder, war crime |
Deaths | 6 security team members, 1 IDF soldier |
Injured | 2 civilians (hostages allowed to go before entering Gaza) |
Victims | Hostages: 7 (5 released, 2 freed) |
Perpetrator | Hamas (Nuseirat Battalion) |
On 7 October 2023, the Hamas Nuseirat Battalion[ citation needed ] attacked Nir Yitzhak, a kibbutz close to the border fence with the Gaza Strip, as part of a surprise attack on Israel.
Two civilian members of the kibbutz's security team including its leader, and one IDF soldier, were known to have been killed on the day of the attack. Four other team members who were originally noted as missing and presumed abducted, were subsequently also identified as being killed on that day. This includes two whose bodies were taken to Gaza.
Seven civilian residents were taken captive. Two hostages were released before crossing into Gaza. Three were released during the 2023 Israeli–Palestinian prisoner exchange. The final two were freed by the IDF in a targeted mission Operation Golden Hand during the Rafah offensive.
Nir Yitzhak is a kibbutz in Israel's northwestern Negev desert, established on 8 December 1949, and named after Palmach commander Yitzhak Sadeh. Affiliated with the Hashomer Hatzair youth movement, it supports the "Garin Tzabar" program for non-Israeli Jews serving in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). [1] As of 2021, it had a population of 649. [2]
The kibbutz founded the Chemada Factory 30 years ago. It is now owned by the Topaz Company. It is defined as an essential factory running 24 hours every day. It produces bromide-based chemicals for pharmaceutical, cosmetics and agricultural use, with all its product being exported. [3] The kibbutz co-owns Shahen Agriculture Co., specializing in field crop production, with Kibbutz Kerem Shalom.[ citation needed ]
At around 6:30 on the morning of 7 October 2023, kibbutz residents were awoken by red alert sirens and what seemed to be louder than usual Iron Dome intercepter activity. They took shelter in their safe rooms, for what they expected to be a short period. [4] [5] [6]
At 6:50 the Kibbutz security team were alerted to a potential attack and told to keep their two-way radios on. Seven members of the team took up defensive positions along the western fence of the kibbutz. They expected, at most, an attack on foot from Gaza, and, at worst, an attempt to breach the kibbutz fence. They believed they were in a superior defensive position to ward off such an attack. [5]
The security team were unaware that the Hamas Nuseirat Battalion had arrived in vehicles at the front gate of the kibbutz and gained entry. They set up sniper positions around the area. [5] A kibbutz resident living near the gate saw what he referred to as fifteen militants entering the kibbutz. After returning to his safe room where his family were sheltering, he warned his neighbours what was happening on WhatsApp. Although his safe room was not breached he did hear screams from the house behind him. This turned out to be Clara Marman's house. She and 4 of her family members were abducted to Gaza. [4]
An elderly couple, the Rosen's, were also abducted. When they arrived on foot at the breached Gaza border fence, they argued that they could go no further because of their injuries. Their abductors allowed them to return to the kibbutz. [7]
The Hamas militants were then caught on security cameras attempting to lure the workers in the Chemada Factory out of the building by lighting bales of paper in front of the factory on fire. [5] This attempt was unsuccessful because the workers and security in the building had access to the security camera. They were able to barricade themselves securely in the main factory floor. The militants did damage other parts of the factory and took equipment. The factory was able to resume production after the kibbutz was secured. [3]
The security team sent a member to investigate the smoke coming from the factory, considered to be the safest part of the kibbutz. When that member did not return another was sent. These members were killed by militant snipers. It was only after this at around 9:00 that the security team began to understand the unprecedented scale of the attack. [5]
The kibbutz security team fought the militants in an attempt to protect the residents, without IDF support. Gunfire was exchanged and grenades were used against the team. At a certain point, the militants left taking the hostages and equipment. They were replaced by looters who were the main people residents heard ransacking their houses. [5]
The kibbutz residents were locked in safe rooms for over 14 hours, without access to water, food or sanitation. Messages were received outside the kibbutz's that residents in their safe rooms could still hear people outside at 14:00. [8] They heard shooting, and their houses being ransacked. Besides the Rosen and Marman/Leimberg houses where the occupants were abducted, no other safety rooms on the kibbutz were reported as breached. [4] [6]
The IDF only arrived at the kibbutz 12-13 hours after the attack began, when the militants had left and only looters remained. The LOTAR unit cleared the kibbutz and protected residents overnight. They assisted in the evacuation of the kibbutz the next day. [9]
The kibbutz's security team's sergeant major, Yaron Shahar, and another response team member, Ofek Arazi, were killed in the attack. [6]
Four members of the response team, Boaz Avraham, Oren Goldin, Tal Chaimi and Lior Rudaeff, were missing and assumed to have been abducted. [10] It subsequently became known that all four of them (Avraham, [11] Goldin, [12] Chaimi, [13] and Rudaeff [14] ) were killed on the day of the attack. Chaimi and Rudaeff’s bodies were taken to Gaza. [13] [14]
Moshe and Diana Rosen, elderly residents of the kibbutz, were injured when Hamas militants shot the lock of their safe room. They were then walked to the Israel-Gaza border and told to proceed into Gaza. The couple refused arguing that they could not continue because of their injuries. After heated discussion between Diana and the militant leader, they were set free and told to go back to the kibbutz, which they did. They were later treated in hospital for their wounds. [7]
The five members of the Marman/Leimberg family who were at the kibbutz at the time of attack were abducted as hostages to Gaza. Clara Marman and her partner Louis Har are residents of the kibbutz. They were being visited by Clara's brother (Fernando Marman), sister (Gabriella Leimberg) and her 17-year old niece (Mia Leimberg). [10] Mia had brought the Leimberg's family dog (Bella) with for the visit. [15]
When the family were kidnapped Mia took Bella with her hidden under her pajamas. The abductors only realized the dog was present when they arrived at the tunnels where the hostages were kept. They allowed Mia to keep the Bella, who she credited with reducing the trauma she felt. [16] Bella was released with Mia when she, her mother and aunt were released as part of the Israeli–Palestinian prisoner exchange on 28 November 2023. [17]
The two men taken hostage from the family, Louis Har and Fernando Marman, were freed by the IDF during a targeted mission, operation Golden Hand, in the city of Rafah on 12 February 2024. They were held in captivity for 129 days. The men were freed from a second floor apartment during an IDF air strike operation in the area. They had lost weight, but otherwise showed no physical signs of harm. They were reunited with their family at the Sheba medical center in central Israel (see image). Gaza Health officials said that 67 Palestinians were killed during the air strike including woman and children. [18] [19]
One Israeli soldier, Ofir Melman, was killed during the fighting. [6]
Sources do not mention if any Hamas militants were injured or killed during the attack. The surviving response team members indicate that at some time after the unsuccessful attempt on the factory, taking of the hostages and various firefights, the militants left the kibbutz, and were replaced by looters who did most of the ransacking of residential houses. [5] [ better source needed ]
Name | Age | Gender | 7 October 2023 | 7 May 2024* |
---|---|---|---|---|
Yaron Shahar | 51 | Male | Killed [5] | - |
Ofek Arazi | 28 | Male | Killed [5] [6] | - |
Ofir Melman (IDF) | 21 | Male | Killed [6] | - |
Boaz Avraham | 61 | Male | Killed, 7 October 2023 [5] [11] | |
Oren Goldin | 33 | Male | Killed, 7 October 2023 [12] | |
Tal Chaimi | 41 | Male | Killed, 7 October 2023. Body in Gaza. [13] | |
Lior Rudaeff | 61 | Male | Killed, 7 October 2023. Body in Gaza. [14] | |
Moshe Rosen | Elderly | Male | Captive for short period [5] [7] | Allowed to go, 7 October 2023 [5] [7] |
Diana Rosen | Elderly | Female | ||
Clara Marman | 62 | Female | Captive [4] [5] [6] [10] [15] | Released, 28 November 2023, [17] [21] with Mia unexpectedly carrying the Leimberg family dog, Bella. [16] |
Gabriela Leimberg (Clara's sister) | 59 | Female | ||
Mia Leimberg (Clara's niece) | 17 | Female | ||
Louis Har (Clara's partner) | 70 | Male | Captive [4] [5] [6] [10] [15] | Freed by IDF in operation Golden Hand in Rafah, 12 February 2024 [18] [19] |
Fernando Marman (Clara's brother) | 60 | Male | ||
Hamas militants (15 [4] or dozens [5] ) | - | - | Left kibbutz [5] | ? |
* All captives released or declared dead by 7 May 2024
Nir Yitzhak is a kibbutz in the northwestern Negev desert of Israel. Located between Hevel Shalom and Hevel Eshkol, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Eshkol Regional Council. In 2022, it had a population of 633.
Alumim is a religious kibbutz located in the northwestern Negev desert in southern Israel, near the Gaza Strip. It falls under the jurisdiction of Sdot Negev Regional Council.
Nahal Oz is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located in the northwestern part of the Negev desert close to the border with the Gaza Strip and near the development towns of Sderot and Netivot, it is under the jurisdiction of Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council. In 2022, it had a population of 479. A nearby IDF military base is known by the same name.
Be'eri is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located in the north-western Negev desert near the eastern border with the Gaza Strip, it falls under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 1,071.
Nir Oz is a kibbutz in southern Israel. It is located in the northwestern Negev desert between Magen and Nirim, and covers 20,000 dunams. Nir Oz is under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 380. The Palestinian militant group Hamas invaded the kibbutz early on 7 October 2023, resulting in a massacre in which about one-quarter of Nir Oz's residents were killed or taken hostage.
The Hannibal Directive, also translated as Hannibal Procedure or Hannibal Protocol, is the name of a controversial procedure used by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to prevent the capture of Israeli soldiers by enemy forces. According to one version, it says that "the kidnapping must be stopped by all means, even at the price of striking and harming our own forces." It was introduced in 1986, after a number of abductions of IDF soldiers in Lebanon and subsequent controversial prisoner exchanges. The full text of the directive was never published, and until 2003, Israeli military censorship forbade any discussion of the subject in the press. The directive has been changed several times, and in 2016 Gadi Eizenkot ordered the formal revocation of the standing directive and the reformulation of the protocol.
A vast network of underground tunnels used for smuggling and warfare exists in the Gaza Strip. This infrastructure runs throughout the Gaza Strip and towards Egypt and Israel, and has been developed by Hamas and other Palestinian military organizations to facilitate the storing and shielding of weapons; the gathering and moving of fighters, including for training and communication purposes; the launching of offensive attacks against Israel; and the transportation of Israeli hostages. On several occasions, Palestinian militants have also used this tunnel network, which is colloquially referred to as the Gaza metro, to infiltrate Israel and Egypt while masking their presence and activities within the Gaza Strip itself. According to Iranian military officer Hassan Hassanzadeh, who commands the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from Tehran, the Gaza Strip's tunnels run for more than 500 kilometres (310 mi) throughout the territory.
On 7 October 2023, Hamas and several other Palestinian nationalist militant groups launched coordinated armed incursions from the Gaza Strip into the Gaza Envelope of southern Israel, the first invasion of Israeli territory since the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The attack coincided with the Jewish religious holiday Simchat Torah. Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups named the attacks Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, while in Israel they are referred to as Black Sabbath or the Simchat Torah Massacre, and internationally as the 7 October attacks. The attacks initiated the ongoing Israel–Hamas war.
On 7 October 2023, the Islamic Palestinian nationalist militant group Hamas initiated a sudden attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip. As part of the attack, 364 individuals, mostly civilians, were killed and many more wounded at the Supernova Sukkot Gathering, an open-air music festival during the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret near kibbutz Re'im. Hamas also took 40 people hostage.
On 7 October 2023, in the opening attacks of the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, Hamas militants carried out a massacre at Be'eri, an Israeli kibbutz near the Gaza Strip.
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.
On 7 October 2023, as part of the Hamas-led attack on Israel at the beginning of the Israel–Hamas war, Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups abducted 251 people from Israel to the Gaza Strip, including children, women, and elderly people. In addition to hostages with only Israeli citizenship, almost half of the hostages are foreign nationals or have multiple citizenships. Some hostages were Negev Bedouins. The precise ratio of soldiers and civilians among the captives is unknown. The captives are likely being held in different locations in the Gaza Strip.
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. According to the Israeli military, up to 150 militants participated in the massacre.
On 7 October 2023, as part of the Qassam Brigades-initiated 7 October attacks on Israel, a series of coordinated armed incursions into the Gaza Envelope, around 30 militants from Hamas' Qassam Brigades attacked Kibbutz Sufa and then overran a nearby military outpost.
On 7 October 2023, a sudden assault was launched on Israel by Hamas militants originating from the Gaza Strip. They targeted Kissufim kibbutz located in the Southern District of Israel. As a result of this violent attack, at least four kibbutz security team members, four other residents, six Thai laborers and eight Israeli soldiers were killed, while at least four individuals were additionally abducted and taken to Gaza.
The Nahal Oz attack was an assault on the kibbutz of Nahal Oz and the adjacent military base near the northern Gaza Strip on the morning of 7 October 2023 as part of a 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel. In the attack, more than 60 Israeli soldiers and fifteen civillians were killed. Some soldiers and eight civillians were kidnapped and taken to the Gaza Strip. The IDF claims that several dead bodies were also taken to the Gaza Strip after being killed at the base or kibbutz.
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. At least five kibbutz civilians died, many were injured and an unknown number of civilians were kidnapped and taken hostage to Gaza.
On 7 October 2023, as part of the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel and the Nir Oz massacre, the Palestinian Islamist militant organization Hamas abducted the Israeli-Argentinian/Peruvian Bibas family from the Nir Oz kibbutz: 9-month-old Kfir, 4-year-old Ariel, 32-year-old mother Shiri, and her 34-year-old husband Yarden. The youngest child, baby Kfir, was the youngest hostage taken in the 7 October 2023 attacks. Shiri's parents, who also lived on the kibbutz, were later found murdered.
Operation Golden Hand was an IDF operation in cooperation with the Shin Bet and Yamam for the rescue of two hostages who were kidnapped to Rafah during the Nir Yitzhak attack on 7 October 2023. The operation commenced on February 12, 2024, at 1:49 AM during combat in the Gaza Strip during the Israel–Hamas war, and ended successfully with the rescue of the hostages, along with a soldier who was lightly injured during the operation. The Gaza Health Ministry said that at least 94 Palestinians were killed by Israel in the coordinated early morning airstrikes that were used as cover for the operation.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)