How one kibbutz defended itself from Hamas

Hundreds were saved. But a group of Gazan farmers died in the battle

By Wendell Steavenson

The red alert sounded through loudspeakers at 6.30am on Saturday October 7th. This was not an unusual event in Nir Am, a kibbutz of 700 people located two kilometres from the fence separating Israel and Gaza. But that morning the alarms kept sounding, again and again. The electricity went off and phone reception suddenly became patchy.

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