Share the memory of October 7. On social media, because this is where barbarism must not be allowed to prevail.
Share the memory of October 7. On social media, because this is where barbarism must not be allowed to prevail.
At 6.35 am, the residents of the kibbutzim Nirim and Nir Oz are informed by the regional administration in Eshkol about fighting in the areas near the border and are asked to seek shelter. At 6:49 a.m., surveillance cameras record the entry of terrorists into Nir Oz.
At the beginning of the attacks, IDF Colonel Asaf Chammami and two soldiers confront the dozens of attackers. They are killed and their bodies taken to Gaza.
The attackers then go from house to house for six hours. They loot, set fires and murder residents. In Nirim, a father and his 17-year-old daughter are murdered, while the mother hides in a cupboard and remains undiscovered.
From Nir Oz, two brothers aged 12 and 14 call their mother. She hears them begging the terrorists not to take them because they are too young. They are abducted. Just like the 84-year-old founder of the kibbutz Armiram Cooper, who later dies in captivity.
The open-air festival Psyduck, which takes place between Nirim and Nirim Oz, is also attacked.
35 people die in Nir Oz, 5 in Nirim and 16 on the festival site. More than 80 people are abducted – more than at any other location in the attacks.
At 6:30 a.m., terrorists attack Zikim by sea. With speedboats, divers and swimmers. The Israeli navy is able to eliminate some of the attackers. However, some of the attackers make it to the beach. Here they kill civilians aged between 17 and 71. Among the victims: Fishermen, teenagers and a married couple. The father of one of the murdered youths is killed on the same day during the attack on Netiv Ha’ Assara. The terrorists published parts of the attack on their Telegram channels. 18 people die in Zikim.
Shortly after 6:30 a.m., terrorists drive into the village in a pick-up truck. They shoot indiscriminately at passers-by. They fire on vehicles and set others on fire. The terrorists murder a married couple and their children, aged five and eight, who are returning from a camping vacation. Another couple and a man who rushes to help save their children are also killed. The two children, aged three and six, cower on the floor of their parents’ vehicle and can later be rescued. A group of thirteen senior citizens on a day trip to the Dead Sea are murdered at a bus stop. Holocaust survivors are among them. At least 60 people die in Sderot.
Around 7:30 a.m., at least 16 terrorists on two pick-up trucks entered the western neighborhood of Mishor HaGefen. They deliberately attack civilians on their way to shelters. They enter houses and kill the residents. In the Edri family home, they held them captive for around 20 hours before Israeli counter-terrorism units succeeded in freeing them. At least 53 people died in Ofakim.
Shortly after 7 a.m., terrorists enter the kibbutz through the back gate. They attack the accommodation of Nepalese students and Thai guest workers with handguns and hand grenades. The foreigners are deliberately pursued. Beheadings take place. The terrorists film them for their propaganda. At the main gate of the kibbutz, pedestrians and vehicles come under fire. 20 people die in Kibbutz Alumin. At least 3 people are abducted.
Shortly after 6:30 a.m., dozens of terrorists enter Kibbutz Kissufim. They gain access to the houses and set them on fire. They deliberately sabotage telephone lines, water and electricity supplies. A 90-year-old Holocaust survivor is taken from her shelter and shot in the head. Among the victims are 6 Thai farm workers. Some of them are beheaded. The bodies of a 12-year-old girl and her 75-year-old grandmother are later found just over the border with the Gaza Strip. At the same time, terrorists infiltrate the neighboring IDF outpost. A single Israeli soldier, armed with a machine gun, is able to hold them off until the defense is organized. 32 unarmed female soldiers, 14 wounded and three civilians can thus be saved. The outpost is the only one that cannot be overrun by terrorists that day. At least 19 people die in Kibbutz Kissufim. An 85-year-old man is abducted.
In the western Negev desert, about five kilometers from the Gaza Strip, around 4,000 people attend the Supernova Sukkot Gathering open-air festival. Shortly after 6.30 am, rockets hit the festival grounds. The visitors are asked to leave the area. Around 7 a.m., pick-up trucks with around 50 terrorists enter the area. Others follow on motorcycles, quads and with motorized umbrellas. The festival security forces are eliminated by them. Panic spreads among the festival visitors. Vehicles of fleeing people are shot at. It becomes impossible to escape through the streets. Almost none of the visitors remaining at the festival survive. Neighboring plantations and bushes are combed by the terrorists for visitors. Those who are found are murdered. The terrorists throw grenades into a shelter where young people are hiding. Anyone who manages to escape is shot dead. Around midday, civilians from Gaza arrive at the site. They rob the bodies and loot the site and the cars left behind. Several women are raped, others abducted. Among them is Shani Louk, whose body is displayed in a propaganda video in Gaza to the cheers of the crowds. 364 people die on the festival grounds. 40 people are abducted.
Shortly after 6:30 a.m., around 100 terrorists infiltrate the Nachal Oz kibbutz and the nearby IDF outpost. The attackers have detailed plans of the outpost and 44 soldiers, including 19 women, aged between 19 and 22, are killed. At the same time, the terrorists go from house to house in the kibbutz. In one, they take Noam Elyakim, his wife and three children hostage and broadcast it as a Facebook livestream. The 17-year-old son is forced to persuade other residents to open their doors. He and his parents are then killed and the two daughters are taken hostage. At least 69 people die in the Nachal Oz kibbutz and the outpost. 16 people are abducted.
At around 6:55 a.m., terrorists enter the kibbutz. Surveillance footage shows them at the northeastern main access road. The head of the health service, Rachaeli Benakot, notifies the 15-member standby unit. Several of its members, including its leader Arik Kraunik, are killed. Others are wounded or are missing. The terrorists go from house to house. Shelters in which people are barricaded are set on fire or attacked with grenades. People are tied up and executed, beheaded, mutilated or burned alive. Undressed women’s bodies show signs of rape. The doctor’s surgery in the center of the village is stormed. The doctor Daniel Levi and the paramedic Armit Mann are killed while tending to injured victims of the attack. Some of the attackers were wearing captured Israeli army uniforms in an attempt to lure people out of hiding. At least 116 people die in Kibbutz Be’eri. Around 30 people are abducted.
7 people die from rocket fire near the Bedouin village.
Shortly after 6:30 a.m., around 70 attackers enter the kibbutz on foot, on motorcycles and with motorized umbrellas. The terrorists overpower and kill the security guards. They go from house to house and murder entire families. Shelters in which people have barricaded themselves are set on fire or attacked with grenades. Some of the victims found are tied up, burnt or beheaded. Others show signs of torture and rape. At least 61 people die in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. At least 19 others are abducted.
Three members of a family die from rocket fire.
A woman dies from rocket fire.
In the first four hours of the attack, 2,200 rockets are fired from Gaza. Among others, rockets hit the cities of Ashkelon, Rishon LeZion and Tel Aviv as well as the Jerusalem suburb of Mewasseret Zion. In Jerusalem itself and the large city of Be’er Sheva, an air raid alert is triggered. Over a hundred people are injured.
