As more information becomes available about the horror that occurred after Palestinian Hamas militants launched their lethal surprise attack, more than 100 bodies have been discovered in the Israeli kibbutz Be’eri.
One of the first locations attacked and among the most struck by militants who crossed the border early on Saturday morning was Be’eri, a self-sufficient farming village of 1,000 people close to Gaza.
According to Israeli authorities and videos CNN got and verified, civilians were slain and taken captive.
Videos reveal that terrorists carrying heavy weapons rode motorcycles into Be’eri at around 7 a.m., just 30 minutes after they managed to scale Israel’s generally sophisticated and heavily guarded border wall.
Bloodshed ensued. Three dead are pulled from a car in video footage by militants, who then seize the automobile and drive it north. The footage was recorded by a security camera in Be’eri, where it initially appeared on Telegram. The footage has been geolocated by CNN at a junction in the kibbutz’s northeastern region.
In another video, armed militants are seen kidnapping five Israeli civilians. CNN-verified footage later reveals the bodies of four of the victims nearby.
Israeli news station Channel 12 was informed by terrified locals that intruders tried to break into their homes by going door to door.
A search and rescue spokesperson informed CNN that the majority of the 107 victims found in the aftermath belonged to kibbutz inhabitants, while some were also Israeli security personnel.
The kibbutzim, or plural for kibbutz, was common in the early years of the country and was based on principles of community living and agriculture. According to the Jewish Agency for Israel, there are over 250 kibbutzim in Israel, and about 125,000 people live in them today.
On Monday, the IDF stated that Be’eri had been “very badly hit.”
Around the same time that Hamas militants attacked Be’eri, three kilometers to the south, a music festival called Nova saw a wave of point-blank shootings and looting by the group.
