Kissufim massacre

Kissufim massacre
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 eight kibbutz civilians and six Thai laborers died, and additionally at least four individuals were abducted and taken to Gaza.
Background
Kibbutz Kissufim is located in the northwestern Negev desert near the Gaza Strip. It was established in 1951 by Zionist youth from the US and South America. Kissufim was meant to help secure Israel's southern border against Palestinian infiltrators. The kibbutz economy relies on dairy and poultry farming, citrus groves, and avocado orchards. The nearby Kissufim crossing into Gaza was the main route for traffic into the Gush Katif settlement bloc until Israel's withdrawal from Gaza in 2005.
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 civilians to death and kidnapped an estimated 162 people to the Gaza Strip, including women, the elderly and infants.
Massacre
On 7 October 2023, dozens of Palestinian militants belonging to the military wing of the Hamas resistance organization entered Kibbutz Kissufim. They carried out a massacre in the kibbutz and murdered at least eight of its members, as well as six Thai workers. Four kibbutz members were kidnapped, and the kibbutz buildings suffered heavy damage. On Saturday night the kibbutz was evacuated to a Dead Sea hotel.
On Tuesday, Reuven Heinik from Ashkelon, the kibbutz dairy farm manager, asked the army for permission to enter the kibbutz dairy farm in order to feed the cows who had not received food and water for about 60 hours. While at the milking parlor, a militant who was hiding at the location murdered him.
One of the victims, Gina Semiatich, was a 90-year-old woman. she was forcibly taken and murdered by the militants. They dragged and shot her in the head in her living room.
Repelling the militants and evacuating Kibbutz residents
A platoon from the 51st Golani Battalion arrived at the kibbutz in order to repel the militants, and became engaged in a battle that lasted several hours. In the late afternoon hours, the soldiers began evacuating kibbutz residents who were trapped in their homes. Eight soldiers from the platoon were killed in the battle.
See also
2023 Israel–Hamas war
Outline of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
List of massacres during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
Palestinian terrorism
Death and eulogy of Ro'i Rothberg
List of massacres in Israel
References
Massacres during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
Cross-border operations
Hamas attacks
Terrorist attacks attributed to Palestinian militant groups
21st-century mass murder in Israel
2023 mass shootings in Asia
Mass shootings in Israel
October 2023 events in Israel
Mass kidnappings of the 2020s
Massacres of Jews
Massacres in Israel during the Israeli–Palestinian conflict
Palestinian war crimes
Battles during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war