On 7 October 2023, around 250 Hamas and other Palestinian militants attacked Kfar Aza, an Israeli kibbutz about 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) from the border with the Gaza Strip, massacring residents and abducting hostages. It took two days for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to regain full control of the area, by which point at least 62 residents had been killed, while a further 19 were taken hostage.