Why Kibbutz Nir Oz, Kibbutz Re'im Was Created, and the Special Music Festival From the October 7th Attack

 Nadene Goldfoot                                         

            Road sign marking route to Nir Oz (photographed 2014)

             So much of the kibbutz was burned, along with  bodies.  

In the 7 October 2023 surprise attack on Israel, about one quarter of the 400 residents of Nir Oz were killed, injured or abducted in the most gross and unbelievable ways. The surviving kibbutz members were evacuated to Eilat. According to the New York Times, "no one lives in Kibbutz Nir Oz anymore".  All of Israel were shaken by the methods used in this killing spree of so many.  All the other world joined them in the shock that so many disgusting ways were used on a people in the midst of celebrating life by dancing to music outside.  The had come from near and for for the Music Festival, an annual event.  All were young people.  Everyone has been scarred.  

Nir Oz (Hebrew: נִיר עֹז, ניר עוז, lit. 'Meadow of Strength') is a kibbutz in southern Israel. It is located in the northwestern Negev desert between Magen and Nirim, and covers 20,000 dunams. Nir Oz is under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Council. In 2021 it had a population of 393.

        Kibbutz Re'im where Music Festival took place;  Re'im is a secular kibbutz in southern Israel, and one of the Gaza vicinity villages. Located at the confluence of Besor Stream and Gerar Stream in the north-western Negev desert. Re'im falls under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Council. In 2021, it had a population of 433.  It was founded in 1949; way before Gaza had been given to the Palestinians which happened in September 2005.  

On 7 October 2023, the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas initiated a surprise invasion of Israel from the Gaza Strip and massacred 270 civilians, wounded many more, and took an unknown number of hostages at the "Supernova Sukkot Gathering", an open-air psychedelic trance music festival celebrating the Jewish holiday of Sukkot near kibbutz Re'im. This massacre was part of a series of coordinated Hamas attacks on Israel that day, which included targeting Israeli civilians for mass killings in the nearby communities of Netiv HaAsara, Be'eri, Kfar Aza, Nir Oz, Holit at the start of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war.

The festival was hosting approximately 3,000 attendees, with the lineup focused on the electronic psytrance subgenre. At around 6:30 a.m. on Oct. 7, Hamas terrorists entered the site by truck, motorcycle, ATV and paraglider and immediately began killing festival attendees with machine guns and RPGs. A number of attendees were also taken hostage by Hamas. (While the exact number of hostages is unknown, two people close the festival put the number at around 150.)

Supernova Sukkot Gathering was the Israeli offshoot of the Paralello Universo festival, a psytrance festival launched in Brazil roughly 20 years ago.

Hamas attacked others areas in the region of the festival site, located near the Gaza border, on Oct. 7. Israeli has since retaliated with days of heavy bombing of Gaza.  Hamas is the fighting source for Arafat's Fatah who has attacked Israel since 1967's Six Day War.  Though civilians in Gaza may not be the young military force of Hamas, remember they went along with Arafat it attacking Jews of Israel. They do not speak in favor of Jews to their children.  They teach their own hatreds.  Many even design their children towards becoming Hamas members.   

The details of the whereabouts and condition of the hostages are not publicly known. The massacre at the festival was the largest terror attack in Israel's history, and the worst Israeli civilian massacre ever.

Founded on 1 October 1955 as a Nahal settlement, Nir Oz was recognized as a kibbutz two months later. Nahal is a branch of the IDF training cadres for agricultural settlements.  When half of the Nahal member's terms of service in the army expires, he is given an opportunity for permanent settlement along the borders, either in existing villages or among the founders of new ones.  Members of Nahal are recruited from youth movements, Youth Aliyah, pioneer youth organizations abroad, and the army,  

 According to a resident named Shlomo Margalit in 2013, there had been a moshav on the site around 1952, "but too many members were killed by the fedayeen or left, so it was dissolved." There were only four trees growing at the kibbutz at the time of its founding; it was developed over time into a model for low-water landscaping. The Hashomer Hatzair took over Nir Oz in May 1957, with a founding group of 70 members.

Due to its proximity to Gaza, Nir Oz farmers often come under Palestinian sniper fire. In 2008 the Israel Defense Forces asked the kibbutz to harvest its potatoes at night to lower the risk of attack. On 5 June 2008 a mortar bomb fired from the Gaza Strip hit the Nirlat paint factory on the kibbutz, killing an employee and wounding four others. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. Around 2013 a tunnel from Gaza was found near Nir Oz. A 2023 book about water in the Jordan River valley reported that the village had a number of "self-contained bomb shelters, each weighing 67 tons."

Resource:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nir_Oz

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Re%27im_music_festival_massacre

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_disengagement_from_Gaza#:~:text=After%20Israel's%20withdrawal%2C%20the%20Palestinians,airspace%20and%20the%20territorial%20waters.

One Month Report Since Israel Was Attacked By Hamas Terrorists of Gaza

Nadene Goldfoot                                  

   Gaza today after Hamas attack on Israel, kibbutz Nir Oz along the border with Gaza.  1,400 Israelis were slaughtered in that attack. Thousands of civilians have been evacuated from northern Gaza to the south under the auspices of the IDF over the last few days. During operations in northern Gaza, troops uncovered a terror tunnel next to an amusement park and another next to a university. Civilians have been evacuating to the south via designated humanitarian corridors opened by the IDF. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f8BuiRdOnU

Yesterday, November 7th,  was day 32 since the October 7th attack on the kibbutz in Israel by Hamas that was the attack of all attacks.   32 soldiers have been killed since the start of the ground offensive. 

 Sergeant first class Jonathan Chazor, 22, a fighter in Shaldag, from Katzir 

  St.-Sgt. (res.) Yaacov Ozeri, a fighter in the 52nd company, 401 Battalion in the Armoured Corps from Kfar Shamai, were killed in the fighting.

Most of our IDF soldiers are from age 18 to 22.  Then we have all the reserve soldiers as well whose age could go up to 55.  I know it did in 1982.  

The Biden administration is pressuring Israel for a pause in the fighting. Israel is rejecting that notion. [Is anyone pressuring Hamas to stop fighting and to release the hostages? So far only Lebanon has joined the Palestinian Hamas.  There will be no pause until the hostages are released.]

Hezbollah situated in Lebanon has been shelling Israel so has joined their Brothers Hamas in the fighting.  Both, of course, are receiving their arms and finances and directions from Iran. Shooting from Lebanon continues in the north. The IDF is responding. In the north, terrorists continue to fire at troops. The IDF is responding with artillery fire and air strikes at terrorist positions in Lebanon.

Rockets continue to be fired from Gaza at Israeli communities.  Last night a massive rocket barrage hit the Tel Aviv area. A rocket hit a house in Savyon, causing major damage but no injuries. This could be from Hezbollah.  

IDF troops continue to eliminate terrorists in Gaza. An airstrike killed Mohsen Abu Zina, Hamas' Head of Weapons and Industries in its manufacturing department.  The IDF is operating deep within Gaza City. Forces captured two members of Hamas' Nukhba force, who were involved in the October 7th  massacre. Hamas tunnels are being discovered and destroyed. In one incident, troops discovered 50 rockets and launchers in the youth hall of a mosque.

 Air force, artillery and naval forces are striking Gaza City.

In an interview with US media, Prime Minister Netanyahu said Israel will have to govern Gaza for "an indefinite period" after the war with Hamas is finished.

The IDF is working on dismantling explosive devices planted under roads and civilian infrastructure throughout Palestinian cities in the West Bank. Last night, security forces raided Tulkarm and killed 4 terrorists who were reportedly on their way to carry out an attack.

The Commander of the German Air Force, Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz, arrived at Israel's Sheba Medical Center with his staff to donate blood, in a strong show of support for Israel.

Yesterday  marked the end of the 30 day mourning period following the Oct. 7th massacre. Ceremonies were held throughout the country and the Jewish world.

[Hamas has the ability to end the war and suffering in Gaza immediately -- by laying down their arms and returning the 240 hostages. The only other way is for the IDF to completely destroy Hamas. The world needs to force them to make the right decision.]

Resource:

israel AM