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 ...
s.[
]
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
/ref>
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