Battle of Nir Am

Battle of Nir Am
Part of Israel–Hamas war
Location  Israel Nir Am kibbutz, Israel 31°31′10″N 34°34′51″E / 31.51944°N 34.58083°E / 31.51944; 34.58083
Belligerents
Hamas	Israeli Defense Forces
Casualties and losses
2 killed, 1 kidnapped	65 killed
Nir am, Israel class=notpageimage| Location within Northwest Negev region of Israel Show map of Northwest Negev region of Israel Nir am, Israel Nir am, Israel (Israel) Show map of Israel

The Battle of Nir Am took place on October 7, 2023, as part of a surprise attack on Israel. During the battle, terrorists belonging to the terrorist organization Hamas attacked Kibbutz Nir Am next to Sderot with the aim of massacring the residents of the kibbutz and kidnapping them to the Gaza Strip. The forces of the Golani Brigade and later the Border Guard stopped the terrorists. Unlike most settlements in the area, the terrorists did not manage to penetrate the kibbutz and there were no casualties among the members of the kibbutz. One citizen was kidnapped to Gaza.

On the morning of October 7, 2023, terrorist organizations Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad began the October 7 massacre. Under the auspices of launching approximately 4,300 rockets, approximately 6,000 terrorists from the Gaza Strip infiltrated dozens of Israeli settlements and military installations in and around Gaza, from 119 different places, while conducting battles and engaging with security forces. The terrorists committed massacres and rape, killed 1,163 people, of which they massacred 779 civilians, and kidnapped to the Gaza Strip about 251 people, including men, women, the elderly and babies. In the first hours, the standby squads, Israel Police officers, IDF fighters and IDF soldiers, who were numerically inferior, fought against them. In the battles, approximately 1,609 terrorists were killed in Israeli territory, and on the Israeli side, 301 soldiers, 55 policemen and 10 members of the General Security Service were killed.^[1]

At least 65 terrorists attempted to infiltrate Kibbutz Nir Am. Around 6:30, reports were received that terrorists had infiltrated the territory of the State of Israel. Following this, the kibbutz's Chief of Staff, Inbal Lieberman, instructed the alert squad to prepare for a defensive battle against the terrorists. Lieberman prepared a battle plan to defend the kibbutz. She placed ambushes around the kibbutz fence, and recruited additional armed men (who did not belong to the alert squad) to reinforce the alert squad. In addition, due to the fall of rockets, the electricity in Nir Am was cut off, and Lieberman ordered the kibbutz's generator not to be turned on, in order to prevent the possibility of opening the kibbutz gates.^[2][3]

The company responsible for the sector, Company A of the 13th Battalion of the Golani Brigade under the command of Major Yoni Cohen, occupied the sector at the end of July 2023. About forty of the company's soldiers who had finished their holiday at the base got up around 5:00 for morning duties. With the firing of the observation post at Post K'2 and the beginning of the artillery bombardment of the post, Major Cohen realized that a major event was taking place and deployed most of the company's strength to defend Kibbutz Nir Am[1] while leaving the mortar platoon to defend the post. The battle to defend the kibbutz began at 6:30 and lasted about eighteen hours. During the battle, three forces under the command of Major Yoni fought fiercely to prevent the terrorists from reaching the kibbutz fence. During the battle, the terrorists managed to reach the hatchery, west of the kibbutz. The terrorists were stopped at the hatchery by a vehicle checkpoint and an ambush that Major Yoni set up to block the route to the kibbutz.^[4][5][6]

A tank from Battalion 77, commanded by Lieutenant Guy Hayon, which was in the combat zone, took part in the battle and was directed to the appropriate point. Although the tank was hit by anti-tank fire and the tank commander was burned in the face, the tank and its crew continued the fighting and played a central role in preventing the terrorists from penetrating the kibbutz.^[7]

Only two terrorists managed to get past the roadblock that Company A had set up on the route. They began running through a plowed field toward the kibbutz. The alert squad and Golani soldiers fired at them. One of the terrorists was killed by the alert squad's fire and the other was eliminated by a Golani force. One Israeli citizen, Samer Fuad al-Talalka, a resident of Hora who worked in a hatchery, was kidnapped to Gaza and after about two months in captivity was accidentally killed by IDF forces.^[4]

During the battle, a terrorist threw a grenade into a bunker of soldiers from the 13th Battalion. Corporal Matan Abergil jumped on the grenade and saved the lives of 6 soldiers who were with him. He himself was killed.^[8] Later, soldiers from the Border Guard Tactical Brigade were deployed to the kibbutz. They arrived at the kibbutz at 11:15 and continued west toward the hatchery. The Golani soldiers had almost no ammunition left, and the arrival of this force saved them and the kibbutz. The tactical unit engaged the remaining terrorists and eliminated them. They also rescued the Golani soldiers who were wounded inside the bunker. A soldier from the Tactical Brigade, Roman Gandel, was killed in the battle. All the residents of the kibbutz were saved by a kitchen.^[9]

Battalion Commander 13, Lt. Col. Tomer Greenberg, ordered Company A to continue hunting for the terrorists who had escaped from the battle for Nir Am and not to allow them to return to Gaza. Company A fighters and the tank from Battalion 77 pursued the terrorists and eliminated them. At midnight, forces from the 12th Golani Battalion replaced the soldiers of Company A, who returned to their base.^[10][11]

• Timeline of the Israel–Hamas war (17 October 2024 – present)