Kfar Aza () is a

kibbutz A kibbutz ( / , ; : kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania Alef, Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economi ...

in southern

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. Located between

Netivot Netivot () is a city located in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel, located 8 miles (13 kilometers) southeast of Sderot and 19 miles (31 kilometers) northwest of Beersheba. In , it had a population of . Currently seeing r ...

and

Sderot Sderot (, , ; , sometimes Romanized as "Sederot") is a western Negev city and former development town in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel. In , it had a population of . Sderot is located less than a mile from Gaza St ...

around east of Gaza, it falls under the jurisdiction of

Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council The Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council (, ''Mo'atza Azorit Sha'ar HaNegev'', ''lit.'' Gate of the Negev Regional Council), is a regional council in the north-western Negev, in Israel's Southern District. The Regional Council's territory lies midway ...

. In , it had a population of .

History

The kibbutz was initially established in August 1951 by Jewish immigrants and refugees from Egypt and the Moroccan city of

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

who had received training in

Ein Harod Ein Harod () was a kibbutz in northern Israel near Mount Gilboa. Founded in 1921, it became the center of Mandatory Israel's kibbutz movement, hosting the headquarters of the largest kibbutz organisation, HaKibbutz HaMeuhad. In 1923 part of the ...

Ayelet HaShahar Ayelet HaShahar () is a kibbutz in northern Israel acquired in 1892 and settled in the second Aliyah, located on the Korazim Plateau, by the Rosh Pina – Metulla road, it is approximately south of the city of Kiryat Shmona and falls under the jur ...

and later

Afikim Afikim () is an Israeli kibbutz affiliated with the Kibbutz Movement located in the Jordan Valley three kilometers from the Sea of Galilee. It is within the jurisdiction of the Emek HaYarden Regional Council. In it had a population of . Etymo ...

. It was temporarily abandoned in 1955, and in January 1957 members of the ''Mita'arim''

gar'in Gar'in (, ''lit.'' kernel) is a Hebrew term used for groups of people who moved together to Ottoman Palestine, British Palestine, and since 1948, Israel.Joel Beinin The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry- 2005 9774248902 "arrived in Israel while the m ...

moved in, marking the reestablishment of the kibbutz. Before the 2023 massacre, the village had more than 700 residents, as well as a school and a synagogue.

October 7th massacre

As part of a broad surprise attack on more than 20 towns and villages in southern Israel on 7 October 2023, approximately 70

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

militants infiltrated Kfar Aza, massacred residents, and left the village in ruins. Another Palestinian militant group, the

Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP; ) is a secular Palestinian Marxist–Leninist and Maoist organization. It is also frequently referred to as the Democratic Front, or al-Jabha al-Dīmūqrāṭiyya (). It is a member ...

, also declared that its troops (organized as

National Resistance Brigades The National Resistance Brigades (), also known as Martyr Omar Al-Qassem Forces, () are the military wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which operates in Gaza and conducts guerilla warfare. Abu Khaled is one of its ...

) were fighting the IDF in Kfar Aza. The militants attacked the village from four directions. They destroyed the gate in the town's perimeter fence and indiscriminately killed residents, torched cars and homes, and forced entry to homes using

rocket-propelled grenade A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), also known colloquially as a rocket launcher, is a Shoulder-fired missile, shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon that launches rockets equipped with a Shaped charge, shaped-charge explosive warhead. Most RPGs can ...

s. More than a hundred civilians were murdered, while others were kidnapped and held hostage. The

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

retook control of the village by 11 October 2023. The corpses of about 20 Hamas attackers were found in the town, along with

paragliders Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched Glider (aircraft), glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a :wikt:harness, harness or in ...

used by Hamas and unexploded

hand grenade A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A mod ...

Economy

Kafrit Industries, a plastics manufacturer located in Kfar Aza, is traded on the

Tel Aviv Stock Exchange The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE; ), colloquially known as The Bursa, is the only public stock exchange in Israel and a public company itself, listed on its own exchange since August 1, 2019. It is regulated by the ''Securities Law (1968)'' a ...

. Kfar Aza was a pioneer in automated watering systems on farms.Water-related Technologies for Sustainable Agriculture in Arid/semiarid Lands
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References

External links

* {{Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council Kibbutzim Kibbutz Movement Populated places established in 1951 1951 establishments in Israel Gaza envelope Populated places in Southern District (Israel) Egyptian-Jewish culture in Israel Moroccan-Jewish culture in Israel