Nirim attack

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 km 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.

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.

The attack
As part of the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, in the early hours of October 7, 2023, a group of approximately 20 militants armed with assault rifles, grenades, and rocket propelled grenades 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 kibbutz's standby squad, fighting the militants with his M16 rifle. According to the military security coordinator, following this skirmish, Levy and members of the standby squad secured a strategic vantage point on a rooftop of a silo. Recognizing their tactical disadvantage, the terrorists ultimately decided to withdraw. Additional Nukhba forces arrived on motorcycles and in vans.

Early in the attack, a group of three IDF soldiers led by Colonel Asaf Hamami entered the kibbutz and battled the Hamas fighters. All three were killed and their bodies were taken to the Gaza Strip.

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 militants 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 militants' infiltration into the kibbutz, IDF troops arrived to clear out the militants. Among the survivors of the massacre was Shai Levy, Mako's military correspondent who stayed in a shelter and covered the sequence of events.

Aftermath
Nirim members who survived the attack were evacuated by the IDF from the kibbutz. The majority currently reside temporarily in a hotel in Eilat.

On 15 October, IDF soldiers reportedly killed Billal al-Qedra, the commander of the Hamas' Nukhba unit in southern Khan Younis battalion who led the operation in Nirim.

On 28 November, two Nirim members, who were held as hostages for 53 days in Gaza by Hamas, were returned to Israel. They were returned as part of as part of a deal between Israel and Hamas. At least two more Nirim members are still held by Hamas.