Nir Oz is a kibbutz in southern Israel. It is located in the northwestern Negev desert between Magen and Nirim, and covers 20,000 dunams. Nir Oz is under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 380. The Palestinian militant group Hamas invaded the kibbutz early on 7 October 2023, resulting in a massacre in which about one-quarter of Nir Oz's residents were killed or taken hostage.
The Gaza ceasefire agreement saw a critical development as Hamas released the names of the first three Israeli hostages set to be..