Netiv HaAsara massacre

Netiv HaAsara, a moshav founded in 1982, is home to a population of 900. Following the Israeli disengagement from Gaza in 2005, Netiv HaAsara became the closest Israeli community to the Gaza Strip, situated 100 meters from the Palestinian towns of Beit Lahia and Beit Hanon. Residents in Netiv HaAsara have claimed to witness Hamas militants training.{{cite news |last1=Ariel |first1=Tal |date=2023-10-12 |title=ליל הבדולח של נתיב העשרה: הגבורה העילאית של אנשי המושב צמוד הגדר - שנתקלו ראשונים |url=https://www.israelhayom.co.il/magazine/shishabat/article/14702377 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231018093824/https://www.israelhayom.co.il/magazine/shishabat/article/14702377 |archive-date=18 October 2023 |access-date=20 November 2023 |work=Israel Hayom |language=Hebrew}}

On the morning of 7 October 2023, between 6:39 and 6:42{{Nbsp}}a.m. local time, three Hamas militants infiltrated separate areas of Netiv HaAsara on motorized paragliders as an advance party ahead of the main force of an estimated 30 fighters from Hamas' Nukhba forces, who were to infiltrate by land from Gaza. A local security officer and his son, who was an off-duty soldier, spotted two of the militants before they landed and opened fire before alerting the rest of the security team of 25. They fired dozens of rounds at them. Although they failed to hit the militants they disrupted their landing, forcing them to land separately and delaying their regrouping. The main force attempted to infiltrate the moshav but they were unable to breach its perimeter wall and retreated towards the Erez crossing. However, the three fighters in the moshav began to massacre residents.{{Cite news |last=Zitun |first=Yoav |date=2025-03-04 |title=37 soldiers didn’t stop 3 terrorists from killing 17 civilians in Netiv HaAsara on Oct. 7 : IDF probe into 'most frustrating' failure |url=https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rkcs394o1g |access-date=2025-03-04 |work=Ynetnews |language=en}}

Netiv HaAsara's security coordinator sent a WhatsApp message alerting the 25-member security team, instructing them to aim their guns out their windows to defend their homes and neighbors, fearing the possibility of friendly fire with the Israel Defense Forces if they went outside to engage the attackers. Unlike other local settlements in which the local weapons were mostly kept in armories, the members of Netiv HaAsara's security team kept their weapons at home. Two security team members defied orders and left their homes to fight but the majority remained in their homes with their weapons at the ready. Eight soldiers from the 7th Armored Brigade's 77th Battalion arrived at the moshav at around the same time, bringing the total number of armed personnel to 37, including a battalion commander.{{Cite web |last=Fabian |first=Emanuel |title=37 armed Israelis failed to stop 3 terrorists from murdering 17 in Netiv Ha’asara |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/37-armed-israelis-failed-to-stop-3-terrorists-from-murdering-17-in-netiv-haasara/ |access-date=2025-03-04 |website=The Times of Israel |language=en-US}}

At the time of the invasion, many residents had fled to their home's safe rooms after the initial rocket barrage at 6:29{{Nbsp}}a.m.{{Cite news |last=Tzuri |first=Matan |date=2023-10-12 |title=Untrained, lacking proper arms, local security teams defended their Gaza border homes |url=https://www.ynetnews.com/article/h1yx3zhwt |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231014221936/https://www.ynetnews.com/article/h1yx3zhwt |archive-date=14 October 2023 |access-date=2024-08-16 |work=Ynetnews |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Littman |first=Shany |title=Israeli peace activists who lost loved ones in the Hamas massacre stand their ground |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-10-27/ty-article-magazine/.highlight/israeli-peace-activists-who-lost-loved-ones-in-the-hamas-massacre-stand-their-ground/0000018b-7235-d51e-a3cb-737d82d80000 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250110162205/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-10-27/ty-article-magazine/.highlight/israeli-peace-activists-who-lost-loved-ones-in-the-hamas-massacre-stand-their-ground/0000018b-7235-d51e-a3cb-737d82d80000 |archive-date=2025-01-10 |access-date=2025-02-25 |work=Haaretz.com |language=en}} For the first two hours of the invasion, residents did not know that Hamas militants had entered Israeli territory due to the unavailability of power or internet access. Some residents were trapped in safe rooms without power.{{Cite web |date=7 October 2023 |title=עדויות תושבי העוטף ממתקפת הפתע על ישראל: "טובחים כאן בתינוקות" | ישראל היום |url=https://www.israelhayom.co.il/news/local/article/14679668 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231009173239/https://www.israelhayom.co.il/news/local/article/14679668 |archive-date=9 October 2023 |access-date=9 October 2023 |website=Israel Hayom |language=he}}

One of the gunmen was killed by a local security officer, Alon Keren, at 7:07{{Nbsp}}a.m. The other two continued massacring residents until 8:10. Between 8:12 and 8:15{{Nbsp}}a.m., members of the security team and soldiers confronted the remaining two gunmen and exchanged fire with them. One local security officer was killed in the shootout before the militants fled towards Gaza, hiding in a grove near the moshav before returning to Gaza at 8:34{{Nbsp}}a.m., where they would be killed later in the war. At 7:15{{Nbsp}}a.m., the Israeli Air Force targeted a tunnel that was thought to have been used to send Hamas fighters to the moshav, resulting in the IAF's first attack on Hamas of the Gaza war. No militants were in the tunnel.{{Cite web |date=2025-03-04 |title=Hamas hang gliders invaded Netiv HaAsara before IDF could respond, probe reveals |url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/defense-news/article-844685 |access-date=2025-03-04 |website=The Jerusalem Post |language=en}} A minute earlier, a combat drone attacked militants at the moshav but missed.{{Cite news |last=Ben-Yishai |first=Ron |date=2025-02-16 |title=Flying blind: Investigation and harsh lessons from IAF probe into Oct. 7 failures |url=https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rj8mxik5yl |access-date=2025-02-25 |work=Ynetnews |language=en}}

Reinforcements were sent to the moshav by 11:30{{Nbsp}}a.m. Between 12:14 and 12:47{{Nbsp}}p.m., seven unaffiliated Palestinian looters infiltrated the moshav in cars through the breached Gaza–Israel barrier.{{cite news |last1=Ariel |first1=Tal |date=2023-10-12 |title=ליל הבדולח של נתיב העשרה: הגבורה העילאית של אנשי המושב צמוד הגדר - שנתקלו ראשונים |url=https://www.israelhayom.co.il/magazine/shishabat/article/14702377 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231018093824/https://www.israelhayom.co.il/magazine/shishabat/article/14702377 |archive-date=18 October 2023 |access-date=20 November 2023 |work=Israel Hayom |language=Hebrew}}{{Cite news |last=Glickman |first=Eitan |date=2023-10-29 |title=Survivor of Hamas terror attack refuses to leave Gaza border home after husband and son murdered |url=https://www.ynetnews.com/magazine/article/rjjljz2zt |access-date=2025-02-25 |work=Ynetnews |language=en}} Some of them broke into a home and were shot at by the homeowner, injuring one. Four of the Palestinians were captured by the IDF, while the rest fled to Gaza.

At least 17 residents were killed in the attack, including three members of the moshav's security team. Some sources have reported that 20 residents were killed. One security officer was killed by rocket fire in a shelter, and his two children were injured. No soldiers from the IDF were killed, and no hostages were taken.

The victims of the attack are commemorated by a garden with an Israeli flag surrounded by twenty olive trees.{{Cite web |last=Yerushalmi |first=Shalom |date=2024-10-07 |title=One year on, depths of despair and mountains of hope in the Gaza border communities |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/one-year-on-depths-of-despair-and-mountains-of-hope-in-the-gaza-border-communities/ |access-date=2025-01-23 |website=Times of Israel |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |last=Tzuri |first=Matan |date=2024-06-20 |title='A sign of resurgence': Israeli flag raised high right in front of the Gaza Strip |url=https://www.ynetnews.com/magazine/article/hyuhfkwl0 |access-date=2025-01-23 |work=Ynetnews |language=en}} On 6 August 2024, the IDF announced that they had discovered the remains of Bilha Yinon, the last resident listed as missing. The remains consisted of a couple of teeth and "other circumstantial evidence."{{cite news |last1=Zitun |first1=Yoav |last2=Tzuri |first2=Matan |date=August 6, 2024 |title=IDF confirms Bilha Yinon, listed as missing, was murdered on October 7 |url=https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rknhbzg5r |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240928024917/https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rknhbzg5r |archive-date=28 September 2024 |access-date=14 August 2024 |publisher=Ynet}} Yinon was the mother of Maoz Inon, an Israeli peace activist.{{Cite web |title=Hamas attack: Final missing Israeli victim declared dead |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyxleqky15o |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240816071429/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyxleqky15o |archive-date=16 August 2024 |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=BBC |language=en-GB}} Since the massacre, most residents have been displaced from Netiv HaAsara;{{Cite web |last=GRUNBLATT |first=DARCIE |date=2024-05-07 |title=A taste of resilience: October 7 survivors from Netiv Ha'asara open cafe in Sarona, Tel Aviv |url=https://www.jpost.com/business-and-innovation/article-800111 |access-date=2025-01-23 |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |language=en}} as of October 2024, only about 100 people lived in Netiv HaAsara. In September 2024, the IDF reported that they had killed the Hamas commander who led the attack on Netiv HaAsara.{{Cite web |last=Fabian |first=Emanuel |last2= |first2= |date=2024-09-03 |title=IDF says it killed Hamas commander who murdered father in front of his kids on Oct. 7 |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-says-it-killed-hamas-commander-who-murdered-man-in-front-of-his-kids-on-oct-7/ |access-date=2025-01-23 |website=Times of Israel |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |date=2024-09-03 |title=Israeli attacks in Gaza kill 35 Palestinians but pauses allow third day of polio vaccinations |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-attacks-gaza-kill-33-palestinians-pauses-allow-third-day-polio-2024-09-03/ |work=Reuters}}{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2024-09-03 |title=Israeli military says it killed Hamas militant who appeared in widely viewed Oct. 7 video |url=https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2024-09-03/israel-hamas-war-latest-israeli-military-says-it-killed-hamas-militant-in-widely-viewed-oct-7-video |access-date=2025-01-23 |website=Los Angeles Times |publisher=Associated Press |language=en-US}}

Survivors have criticized the Israeli government for not preventing the attack and for the lengthy response time of the IDF.{{Cite news |last=Tzuri |first=Matan |date=2023-10-12 |title=Untrained, lacking proper arms, local security teams defended their Gaza border homes |url=https://www.ynetnews.com/article/h1yx3zhwt |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231014221936/https://www.ynetnews.com/article/h1yx3zhwt |archive-date=14 October 2023 |access-date=2024-08-16 |work=Ynetnews |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Sharon |first=Jeremy |date=2023-10-13 |title=‘There was no air force, no soldiers, we were alone,’ says Hamas massacre survivor |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/there-was-no-air-force-no-soldiers-we-were-alone-says-hamas-massacre-survivor/ |work=The Times of Israel |access-date=13 October 2023 |archive-date=14 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231014172443/https://www.timesofisrael.com/there-was-no-air-force-no-soldiers-we-were-alone-says-hamas-massacre-survivor/ |url-status=live}}{{Cite news |last=MOR SELA |first=TAMAR |date=2024-03-17 |title='You feel like an uprooted plant. You try to plant yourself somewhere you don't know to feed the basic need for water and air. It's like putting a plant that needs earth into concrete' |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/uprooted-micha-biton-59-from-netiv-haasara-this-is-his-story/ |work=Times of Israel |access-date=16 August 2024 |archive-date=16 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240816064954/https://www.timesofisrael.com/uprooted-micha-biton-59-from-netiv-haasara-this-is-his-story/ |url-status=live }} In March 2025, the IDF's investigation into the massacre was released. It was highly critical of the conduct of the security team and IDF troops present, describing it as the "most frustrating" of the October 7 battle reports. Despite full military superiority over the militants, with a large security team that was one of the best-trained such teams in the region as well the rapid arrival of IDF troops including a senior commander, the 37 armed Israelis present failed to stop three militants from carrying out a massacre in the moshav. The investigation found that the security coordinator ordered members of the security team to remain in their homes instead of confronting the militants. The security coordinator later explained his actions as a lapse in judgement and due to fear of friendly fire from IDF troops. The investigation also found that the IDF troops present did not follow proper procedure, with them failing to secure the area and carrying out slow scans of the moshav.

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{{Reflist}}

• Kenan Reuveni, [https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-10-15/ty-article-magazine/.premium/we-interviewed-them-six-months-ago-last-week-hamas-murdered-them/0000018b-3316-dff1-a5eb-ffff81820000 We Interviewed Them Six Months Ago. Last Week Hamas Murdered Them], Haaretz, October 15, 2023

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