The mass graves discovered in numerous kibbutzim near the Gaza Strip bear witness to unspeakable violence. During Hamas’ attack on Israel on Saturday, commandos of the terrorist organization went to these collectivist villages (which are based on the principles of autonomy and community). Many survivors testify to an identical surgical procedure. The raids take place early in the morning and surprise the residents. The attackers broke into the houses one by one to kill the residents without further ado. Many hostages were also returned to the Gaza Strip. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned this on Tuesday evening “An atrocity unprecedented since the Shoah”.
Videos on social networks streamed online as the Israeli army reported on Tuesday the massacres that took place, particularly in Be’eri and Kfar Aza, now liberated, in which more than a hundred people died. The kibbutzim of Nir Oz, Kissoufim and Ofaqim were also targeted. Here’s what we know about these attacks and massacres.
Attack on Israel: More than a thousand Palestinians killed in Gaza: Follow our lives
An unquantified massacre in Kfar Aza
On Tuesday, the Israeli army revealed to the foreign press the mass grave at Kibbutz Kfar Aza, which was founded in 1951 and contains 700 residents. It is located two kilometers from the Gaza Strip, which is visible to the naked eye. He was attacked on Saturday morning from 6:30 a.m. and released by the Tsahal (Israeli Army) on the night of Monday to Tuesday. According to the Israeli army, 70 Hamas terrorists entered the city. According to the same source, some even landed with paragliders.
Official figures have not yet been confirmed, but several Israeli soldiers interviewed by AFP reported more than 100 dead, sometimes 150, including children. The AFP journalist present on site testifies “with an ever-present smell of death. » During their attack, the terrorists went from house to house, killing civilians of all ages. Many houses were burned down. Journalist from i24 News (a 24-hour international news channel based in Israel), Maël Benoliel, spoke on the spot of acts of barbarism.
“I have never seen anything like this in my entire life […] As we removed the bodies of civilians and children, I thought of General Eisenhower after he saw the death camps in Europe. It’s a massacre “Retired Major General Itai Veruv told the press. “The terrorists threw grenades inside. Nobody survived”he sighs.
The Israeli army was busy clearing the kibbutz on Tuesday, with bodies being packed into bags and collected for evacuation.
More than a hundred dead in Be’eri
A Hamas commando, which, according to the Israeli army, also consisted of 70 people, stormed Kibbutz Be’eri, which was founded in 1946 and has 1,200 inhabitants, early on Saturday morning at 7 a.m. You will occupy the premises for 17 hours. Many civilians are killed, others are taken hostage and returned to the Gaza Strip. Video surveillance images testify to the violence of the terrorist operation.
According to the NGO Zaka, which was involved in the collection, 108 bodies were discovered by emergency services on Monday evening. Survivors, who were now staying in hotels in Tel Aviv, were able to testify to the horrors they had experienced and reported stories in which civilians, including people of all ages, were killed in cold blood. Notably, Israel’s official Twitter account posted a photo of the bodies in bags on Tuesday evening on X (formerly Twitter) with the words: “Don’t look anywhere else.”
Most of the terrorists were killed in clashes with the IDF, army spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Monday.
Also read: REPORTING. After their evacuation, these Israelis feel that Hamas has won
German woman killed in Nir Oz
Hamas also claimed several victims in Nir Oz, two kilometers from Gaza. A now-deleted video posted by Hamas sympathizers on social media (including Facebook) shows bodies piled up. “Everyone wears civilian clothes, no weapons, no uniform.”, noted Libération, which confirmed the authenticity of the video. An execution is carried out there.
Shiri Bivas, a resident of Kibbutz Nir Oz, was believed to have been kidnapped along with her two children, aged nine months and three years, reports AFP. It was the videos published on social networks that allowed the family to identify their loved one. In one of them, according to the same source, we would see them in a Palestinian enclave.
A German national was killed in the attack. She is a 22-year-old student from Berlin, reports the German daily newspaper “Die Welt”, who spoke to her mother. She was accompanied by her companion, Danny Darlington, a British citizen, who was also killed. The German judiciary announced on Tuesday that it was opening an investigation into suspected murder and kidnapping of German citizens.
Attacks in Kissoufim, Ofaqim…
In Kissoufim, survivors quoted by Le Parisien said that the attackers took Israeli uniforms “Fool the locals.”
In Ofaqim, two Israelis held hostage by two Hamas terrorists were released after 15 hours of negotiations. The latter were killed. Two police officers were killed in the attack. In a BFTMV report we can see the numerous bullet holes inside the shelter, testifying to the violence of the exchange. “I took care of 100 bodies of residents of Ofakim and people who came from Reim”a resident tells BFMTV.
Several shots were also heard in Urim, not far from Ofaqim, reports CNN. According to Israeli soldiers cited by American media, the attackers were captured outside as they tried to enter the city.
According to the Jewish Agency for Israel, about 125,000 people live in about 250 kibbutzim. More than a hundred people have reportedly been kidnapped by Hamas on Israeli territory since Saturday.