Kfar Aza had more than 700 residents prior to the attack, and it took two days for the Israel Defense Forces to regain full control of the area. While the exact total of Israelis killed is yet unknown, as of 15 October 52 were listed as dead, and a further 20 or more were missing.[2][3]
The attack is notable for claims of brutality in the form of beheadings,[4] dismemberment, and victims having been burned alive.[5][6] Claims by Israeli media and government sources advancing that 40 babies had been decapitated went viral.[7][8][9][10] While a massacre of civilians did occur, a few of the most lurid claims, including the baby decapitations, were later found to be false.[7][11][8][12] Evidence provided by Bituah Leumi, Israel's national social security agency, showed that of the 46 civilians that were killed in Kfar Aza, the youngest was 14 years old.[13]
Massacre
Prior to the massacre, the area had 400 residents. About 70 Hamas gunmen broke through a fence and gained access to the kibbutz on the morning of 7 October 2023.[14] After entering the kibbutz, which was 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) from Gaza, the militants proceeded to massacre residents.[14] The Islamist militants began by targeting the west side of the community—an area in the kibbutz close to Gaza—where families with young children lived.[15][16] Fifty two people at the kibbutz are known to have been killed.[2]
Members of the kibbutz with military training, who formed a volunteer armed guard, fought against invading militants in an attempt to defend the community.[16] Hamas militants broadened the attack to all four directions.[15] Militants burned houses and killed civilian residents.[17][18][19] Corpses of those who had lived in the area were found with their hands tied.[19]
A survivor, Avidor Schwartzman, described how he hid with his wife and one-year-old daughter in their safe room for over 20 hours until their rescue by Israeli soldiers.
"There were bodies everywhere. Dead bodies everywhere," the 38-year-old said. "We saw our little piece of paradise, our little piece of heaven, was totally burnt – burnt and with blood everywhere".[20]
In addition, the militants took hostages from the kibbutz.[21][22] The Associated Press visually confirmed four hostages who were abducted on 7 October.[23] The militants took women, children and senior citizens among the hostages back to Gaza.[24]
It took the Israel Defense Forces two and a half days to regain full control of Kfar Aza after the initial attack.[16] The paratroopers of Unit 71 led the assault to retake the area,[25] and the Duvdevan Unit also responded to the attack.[3] Another Palestinian militant group, the MaoistDFLP, also declared that its troops (organized as National Resistance Brigades) were fighting the IDF in Kfar Aza.[26]
Casualties
According to BBC News, most of the victims of the massacre died in the opening hours of the attack. As of 10 October 2023[update], soldiers were still going through the community to recover bodies.[27] According to one soldier present, several civilians had been beheaded.[9] Other victims were dismembered or burned.[6] Children and babies were initially reported to be among the killed,[4][8] however, social security data later showed that the youngest person killed was aged 14 years old.[13]
In the aftermath of the initial Hamas assault, witnesses from the Israeli soldiers, the Israeli Department Forces, and the first responder Israeli organization ZAKA said on French Israeli TV channel i24news that they had seen the bodies of beheaded infants at the site of the Kfar Aza massacre.[28][29][4] During Antony Blinken's visit to Israel, he said he was shown photos of the massacre by Hamas of Israeli civilians and soldiers, and specifically that he saw beheaded IDF soldiers.[30] U.S. President Biden separately said that he had seen photographic evidence of terrorists beheading children, but the White House later clarified that Biden was alluding to news reports of beheadings, which have not contained or referred to photographic evidence.[8]
An Israeli ZAKA volunteer reported on 14 October seeing children's bodies with severe injuries and burns. Some of the bodies appeared to have been decapitated, but the exact circumstances were not clear.[31] On 24 October, Israeli authorities screened bodycam footage of Hamas atrocities for journalists, including "an attempt to decapitate someone who appeared to be still alive using a garden hoe",[32] as well as a still image of a decapitated IDF soldier.[33] The locations of these attacks was not specified in the reporting.[32][33]
An allegation of '40 beheaded babies' spread widely on social media in the days immediately following the massacre, which was later found to be false.[8][34] On 4 December, Haaretz reported that "unverified stories [had been] disseminated by Israeli search and rescue groups, army officers and even Sara Netanyahu".[11][35]Haaretz journalists Nir Hasson and Liza Rozovsky related the chronology of the news items about "beheaded babies" and "hung babies" and concluded, "this story is false".[11] They quoted Ishay Coen, a journalist for the ultra-Orthodox website Kikar Hashabbat, who admitted he made a mistake by unquestioningly accepting the IDF's claims.[11] "Why would an army officer invent such a horrifying story?", Hashabbat asked, adding, "I was wrong".[11]Haaretz also reported that some testimony came from reservist officers.[11]
Aftermath
On October 14, one week after the massacre, a vigil by a survivor of the Kfar Aza Massacre grew into a protest which attracted hundreds of participants, calling for the return of the 17 Kfar Aza residents kidnapped by Hamas during the attack, as well as the resignation of Benjamin Netanyahu.[36] Another protest organized by Kfar Aza massacre survivors took place on October 26.[37]
Kfar Aza massacre survivor Ziv Stahl, executive director of the human rights organization Yesh Din, strongly opposed calls to exact revenge in an article for Haaretz, arguing that, "Indiscriminate bombing in Gaza and the killing of civilians uninvolved with these horrible crimes are no solution".[38]
Israeli Major General Itai Veruv described the massacre as a terror attack.[21] Hamas has also released video footage of the attack.[39] Journalists were granted access to the site on 10 October 2023.[40][21] In December 2023 it was reported that actress Debra Messing and journalist Douglas Murray toured the site of the massacre and met with survivors during their trip to Israel.[41]
The kibbutz has become a place of pilgrimage, military ceremonies and tourism by visitors to Israel and Israeli citizens, with at least one resident speaking out about the practice. She told reporters that items were being taken from peoples homes and buildings, along with some not respecting the area and history, after finding two IDF soldiers taking selfies in her home when she came to collect items.[42] A visitor to the site expressed caution and discomfort walking through the empty streets and homes, and stated that many homes had giant banners with the names and pictures of the homes residents along with their status after the attacks.[43]
