Nir Am Colony

Nir Am is a kibbutz located in the southern occupied Palestine, adjacent to the settlement of Sderot and approximately 1.3 miles from the Gaza Strip. It covers an area of 20,000 dunams. This kibbutz was established on August 19, 1943, by immigrants from Bessarabia who were members of the Gordonia youth movement, including Tzvi Gershoni, who later became a member of the Knesset. Over the years, the kibbutz also absorbed immigrants from Argentina, France, and South Africa. During the 1948 war, it served as the headquarters of the Negev Brigade. In a report written by Yaakov Reifstein in March 1948 investigating violations within the Haganah and Palmach units, it was revealed that an Arab individual was captured, tortured, and killed. During the Hamas and resistance factions’ attack in 2023, Nir Am was one of the few settlements close to Gaza that avoided casualties due to the quick action of its security team, which successfully repelled attacks from the resistance fighters. In 2021, the settler population was 683, and by 2022, it had increased to approximately 726 settlers. Sources: Due to the scarcity of Arabic sources, Hebrew sources were used, including:

• The official Hebrew website of the settlement

• The Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics