What Is a Kibbutz, the Israeli Communes Targeted in the Hamas Attacks?

An experiment in collective farming and living, Kibbutzim near the Gaza frontier bore the brunt of the Oct. 7 attack.

Israeli soldiers carry the body of a victim of an attack by terrorists from Gaza at Kibbutz Kfar Aza, in southern Israel, on Oct. 10, 2023. Violeta Santos Moura/Reuters

Israel’s kibbutzes—kibbutzim in Hebrew—bore the brunt of the Oct. 7 terror attack.

Hamas targeted those close to the Gaza border. Two were particularly hard hit: Kibbutz Be'eri, where at least 117 kibbutz residents were murdered, and Kfar Aza, where more than 100 were killed.