Psyduck music festival massacre

On 7 October 2023, the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas initiated a surprise invasion of Israel from the Gaza Strip. As part of the attack, 364 civilians were killed and many more wounded by Hamas at the Supernova Sukkot Gathering, an open-air music festival during the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret near kibbutz Re'im. At least 40 hostages were also taken. This mass killing had the largest number of casualties out of a number of massacres targeting Israeli civilians in villages adjacent to the Gaza Strip, that occurred as part of the 7 October invasion, alongside those at the moshavim of Netiv HaAsara, Be'eri, Kfar Aza, Nir Oz and Holit.At 6:30 am around sunrise, rockets were noticed in the sky. Around 7:00 am, a siren warned of an incoming rocket attack, prompting festivalgoers to flee. Subsequently, armed militants, dressed in military attire and using motorcycles, trucks and powered paragliders, surrounded the festival grounds and indiscriminately fired on individuals attempting to escape. Attendees seeking refuge in nearby locations, such as bomb shelters, bushes, and orchards, were killed while in hiding. Those who reached the road and parking were trapped in a traffic jam as militants fired at vehicles. The militants executed some wounded individuals at point-blank range as they crouched on the ground.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.

Re'im (Hebrew: רֵעִים, lit. 'Friends') 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, it falls under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Council. In 2021, it had a population of 433.Re'im was founded in 1949 by members of the Israel Boy and Girl Scouts Federation who were demobilized from the Palmach. The kibbutz was designed by the architect Hanan Havron. The building, which was used by the Havron for decades as his office, is today the kibbutz's heritage building, with a display of the history of the place.An outdoor music festival near Re'im was attacked by Hamas on 7 October 2023, as part of a larger invasion of Israel. Several hundred people were killed and many bodies and cars were set on fire.

Tell Jemmeh (Arabic: تل جمه), also known in Hebrew as Tel Gamma (תל גמה) or Tel Re'im (תל רעים), is a prominent mound, or tell, located in the region of the northwestern Negev and the southern coastal plain of Israel, about 12 km south of Gaza, bounded by the kibbutz of Re'im 2 km to the east, and the kibbutz of Kisufim 6 km to the west, and is 9 km east of the Mediterranean coast. The site is located at the confluence of two streams, Nahal Besor and Nahal Gerar. Both have changed their course in this area many times throughout history. Tell Jemmeh is one of three major sites along the Besor Stream along with Tell el-Far'ah and Tell el-Ajjul. Some archaeologists identify the Besor Stream with the "Brook of Egypt" found in the Hebrew Bible (Torah). There are also a number of ancient sites to the east along the Gerar Stream. Tell Jemmeh is famous for two significant archaeological discoveries: an Assyrian structure, probably a palace, from the Assyrian occupation of the northern Kingdom of Israel, and a grain storage facility from the time of the Ptolemaic Kingdom.The mound is 23 metres high and dominates its surrounding plains, which are excellent for agriculture. It spans an area of 12 acres or 43 dunams. Tell Jemmeh is located about 10 kilometres from Tell el-Farah (South) and Tell el-Ajjul, which allows for them to communicate by signal fires. This orientation of the sites suggests it was a border zone. The ancient inhabitants of Tell Jemmeh probably depended on spring water from the nearby Besor Stream. Most of the building material used in the site is sun-dried mudbrick.Tell Jemmeh was first settled as a hunter-farmer village during the Chalcolithic period, six thousand years ago. It was inhabited for 200 years and then abandoned until it was rebuilt in the Middle Bronze Age. From here the site would be settled for 1,600 years. It is identified with Yursa, mentioned in the Egyptian Amarna Letters from 1350–1330 BCE.

Be'eri (Hebrew: בְּאֵרִי) is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located in the north-western Negev desert near the eastern border with the Gaza Strip, it falls under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Council. In 2021 it had a population of 1,047.During a massacre in Be'eri during the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, 100 people were killed.

On 7 October 2023, in the opening attacks of the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, Hamas militants carried out a massacre at Be'eri, an Israeli kibbutz near the Gaza Strip. Around 70 Hamas militants had attacked the kibbutz and at least 130 people were killed in the attack, including women (such as peace activist Vivian Silver), children, toddlers, and one infant, claiming the lives of 10% of the farming community's residents. Dozens of homes were also burned down. This incident occurred concurrently with a series of other massacres and military engagements in multiple neighbouring Israeli communities, including Netiv haAsara, Kfar Aza, and the Rei'm music festival massacre. Several newspapers described the massacre as an act of terrorism. A few early claims regarding the attack were later found to be false.Hostages were taken, leading to a stand-off with the Israel Defense Forces. Relatives of some of those killed have demanded a probe into potential deaths of some of these hostages from friendly fire, including one incident in which an Israeli tank fired at a house full of hostages.

The Be'eri Forest (Hebrew: יער בארי) of area about 11,000 dunams is located in the western Negev, within the Eshkol Regional Council area. It was planted by the pioneers of the kibbutz Be'eri.The forest has a diverse array of tree types, encompassing conifers, fruit-bearing trees, and deciduous broad-leaved trees. During winter and spring time it is covered with clusters of anemones, orchids, tulips, asphodels and many other flowers. On May 2, 2018, the forest was severely damaged by a forest fire that was ignited by an incendiary kite sent by Hamas from Gaza.

The Anzac Memorial (Hebrew: יד אנזא"ק, romanized: Yad ANZAC – The Be'er Sheva Anzac Memorial Center) is a monument in Be'eri Forest, Negev, Israel, to the soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand armies who were killed in Palestine during the First Battle of Gaza and Second Battle of Gaza of World War I.

Shokeda (Hebrew: שׁוֹקֵדָה) is a religious moshav in southern Israel. Located approximately six kilometres west of Netivot and covering 6,000 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Sdot Negev Regional Council. In 2021 it had a population of 635.

Juhor ad-Dik (Arabic: جحر الديك, lit. 'burrow of the cock') is a Palestinian farming village in the Gaza Governorate, south of Gaza City, in the central Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the village had a population of 4,586 inhabitants in 2017.

On 7 October 2023, dozens of Hamas militants attacked Alumim, a kibbutz close to the border fence with the Gaza Strip, as part of a surprise attack on Israel. There were 41 Thai and Nepalese foreigners working at the kibbutz. The militants killed between 16 and 17 of these workers and kidnapped between five and eight of them. The kibbutz's security team were too far away and unable save the employees. The militants did severe structural damage to the Kibbutz’s dairy farming operation. After heavy fighting, the security team were able to push the militants back with the help of the Israeli Defense Forces. No deaths among the remaining civilian population of the kibbutz were reported. At least two Israeli soldiers were killed by militants, while a significant number of Hamas militants were killed.

Alumim (Hebrew: עֲלוּמִים, lit. 'Youth') is a kibbutz located in the northwestern Negev desert in southern Israel, near the Gaza Strip. It falls under the jurisdiction of Sdot Negev Regional Council. In 2021 it had a population of 531.

Kfar Maimon (Hebrew: כְּפַר מַיְמוֹן, lit. 'Maimon Village') is a religious moshav in southern Israel. Located near Netivot and covering 5,000 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Sdot Negev Regional Council. In 2021 it had a population of 427.