Nahal Oz massacre

Nahal Oz massacre
The Nahal Oz massacre was carried out by Hamas militants on the morning of October 7, 2023, Simchat Torah, in Kibbutz Nahal Oz near northern Gaza Strip, as part of a surprise attack on Israel. In the massacre, many kibbutz residents were murdered, and extensive damage was caused. Some residents were kidnapped and taken to the Gaza Strip.
Background
Nahal Oz is a kibbutz situated in southern Israel, in the northwestern part of the Negev desert near the Gaza border. As of 2021, it had a population of 471 residents. Founded in 1951, it was the first Nahal settlement in the country. By 1953, it transitioned into a civilian community. A significant event in its history occurred in 1956 when the kibbutz's security officer, Ro'i Rothberg, was killed by infiltrators from Gaza. His funeral witnessed a powerful eulogy by Moshe Dayan, then Chief of Staff, which emphasized the challenges faced by Israel and the constant threat from its neighbors.
Following the 2006 Lebanon War, a eulogy by novelist David Grossman for his son drew comparisons to Dayan's earlier eulogy. In 2014, a young resident, Daniel Tregerman, was killed by mortar fire from Gaza.
Massacre
Attack at nearby outpost
According to initial investigations, 40–50 militants infiltrated through the fence system and ran towards the military base near Nahal Oz. The militants engaged in a brief battle with the guards at the gate, killed them and went inside, and soon destroyed a large part of the post and equipment within it. The soldiers at the post were surprised, and most of them were killed. In the war room, staff officers and observers entrenched themselves and tried to communicate with the forces and direct combat helicopters to the militant squads. A battalion commander and two platoon commanders exchanged fire with the militants outside the war room. This effort continued until the militants threw explosives inside and many were killed.
At the time of the attack, 27 soldiers of Unit 414 of the Combat Intelligence Collection Corps were on duty at this base and were killed or captured by Hamas. Most Unit 414 soldiers at Nahal Oz were female. Their duty was to conduct reconnaissance on the border with Gaza as well as to operate the remote-controlled gun turrets stationed on the Iron Wall. For some reason, most soldiers at Nahal Oz were not provided a handgun or rifle to defend themselves despite their military outpost being less than a kilometer from Gaza. When Hamas attacked, the base only had a few combat soldiers stationed there. These soldiers were easily defeated. The unarmed Unit 414 soldiers hid in a bomb shelter and almost all of them were killed or captured. According to the Israel Defense Forces twenty Unit 414 soldiers were killed in action at the Nahal Oz base and six were reported missing.
The 13th Battalion of the elite Golani Brigade suffered 41 killed, which was more fatalities than it suffered in the Six-Day War and Yom Kippur War combined. The battalion headquarters were at the military base at Nahal Oz, but many Golani soldiers were spread out across the Iron Wall and were not defending the base initially. Hamas somehow knew that Nahal Oz was a major intelligence base and attacked it first. The surveillance buildings and their computer equipment were destroyed within the first hour of the invasion, making all other IDF units defending the Iron Wall blind.
Inside the kibbutz
In parallel to the events at the Nahal Oz post, at least 20 of the militants who carried out the surprise attack infiltrated Kibbutz Nahal Oz near northern Gaza Strip. The militants broke into homes, kidnapped some kibbutz residents, and killed others. Some of the guards from the outpost came into the kibbutz and began fighting against the militants.
Among the victims were Israel Hayom photographer Yaniv Zohar and most of his family, Additionally Eden Nimri, an Israeli international-level swimmer. As of 17 October, total losses were unknown, at least 12 residents were reported killed, and 20 missing, in addition to the guards and militants who died.
See also
List of massacres during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
Timeline of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in 2023
Outline of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
Palestinian terrorism
Death and eulogy of Ro'i Rothberg
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