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Kfar Aza massacre
Part of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
Kfar Azaclass=notpageimage| 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 / 31.48361; 34.53389
Date	7 October 2023; 15 months ago (2023-10-07)
Attack type	Mass shooting, mass murder, decapitation, dismemberment, immolation
Deaths	Unknown
Perpetrator	Hamas

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. Total casualties were not yet known as of 10 October; 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. The attack was notable for its level of violence with beheadings, dismemberment, immolation and killings reported, although with some confusion.

Massacre

About 70 Hamas gunmen broke through a wall separating the kibbutz from the Gaza Strip on the morning of 7 October 2023. After entering the kibbutz, which was a mere 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) from Gaza, the militants proceeded to massacre residents of the community. The Islamist militants began their attack on the community by targeting the west side of the community—an area in the kibbutz close to Gaza where families with young children lived.

Members of the kibbutz with military training, who formed a volunteer armed guard, fought against invading militants in an attempt to defend the community. All members of the kibbutz's volunteer armed guard were killed, and militants broadened the attack to all four directions. Invading militants burned houses and killed civilian residents. Corpses of those who had lived in the community were found with their hands tied.

In addition, the militants took hostages from the kibbutz; with the Associated Press visually confirming four hostages that were abducted on 7 October. Israeli Major General Itai Veruv described the massacre as a terror attack.

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. The paratroopers of Unit 71 led the assault to retake the community.

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, soldiers were still going through the community to recover bodies.

Allegations

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, Israeli soldiers in the town stated that several civilians had been beheaded. CBS News later interviewed Yossi Landau, regional head of the first responder organisation ZAKA, who corroborated that both babies and minors had been beheaded alongside corpses of dismembered adults.

The IDF stated to Insider that they would not investigate the allegation further, citing that it would be "disrespectful for the dead" to do so. On 12 October 2023 it was reported by CNN that the claims of beheading could not be confirmed which contradicted earlier reports. The government of Israel later provided photos of babies killed by Hamas, including one which was burnt, though NBC News stated that no photographic evidence that babies were decapitated was provided.

Documentation

Journalists were granted access to the site on 10 October 2023. Hamas has also released video footage of the attack.

See also

• Be'eri massacre
• Re'im music festival massacre
• List of events named massacres
• List of terrorist incidents in 2023
• Outline of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war

References

1. "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.
2. Chance, Matthew; Greene, Richard Allen; Berlinger, Joshua (12 October 2023). "Israeli official says government cannot confirm babies were beheaded in Hamas attack". CNN. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
3. ^ 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.
4. ^ 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.
5. ^ 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.
6. ^ 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.
7. 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.
8. "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.
9. ^ 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.
10. ^ 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.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. 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.
15. "Hamas terrorists murdered 40 babies in kibbutz attack". Jewish News Syndicate. 10 October 2023. Archived from the original on 10 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
16. ^ 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.
17. 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.
18. 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.
19. 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.
20. 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.
21. "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.

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