“Horrific scenes” unfold as numerous bodies are discovered in Kfar Aza, located near Gaza in Israel.

The Israeli military commences the process of recovering the bodies of Israeli civilians and Hamas fighters from the Kfar Aza kibbutz following the cessation of hostilities in the region.

Dozens of bodies, including those of Israeli civilians and Hamas fighters, were discovered amid the ruins of burned-out homes, scattered furniture, and charred vehicles on the grounds of Kfar Aza, a southern Israeli community located just off the Gaza Strip’s besieged border.

On Tuesday, the Israeli military escorted foreign journalists through the site as soldiers painstakingly removed the deceased from house to house.

The acrid scent of death hung heavily in the air as reporters traversed the paths of the kibbutz, a farming settlement of approximately 400 people situated only about 2 kilometers (approximately a mile) from Gaza. Israel had relentlessly bombarded this area in retaliation for the most severe attack on its territory in decades.

One soldier implored, “Tell the world what you saw here.”

Reporting from Kfar Aza, Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford described “bodies scattered throughout the village,” with many civilians still in their homes when they were killed. He noted that the remains of what appeared to be Hamas fighters were also found on the ground, swollen from exposure to the sun.

“The Israeli military is reporting that many foreign workers are believed to have been killed in this attack. Numerous homes are completely demolished,” he said, recounting the “utterly horrific” scenes.

“What is so shocking is that people’s lives, their belongings, are strewn across their lawns. They have been blown out of their houses by the explosives.”

Personal possessions, including a child’s pram, were strewn across the road beside a car, days after a mass infiltration by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip near Kibbutz Kfar Aza in southern Israel.

The military explained that they were unable to recover the bodies earlier due to ongoing confrontations with gunmen and the need to clear booby traps.

Soldiers were still securing the paths of the kibbutz, with the sound of gunfire and explosions in the distance.

Jets could be heard overhead, and smoke rising from Gaza was visible, accompanied by sirens warning of incoming rockets intercepted in the sky.

Kfar Aza was one of the areas hardest hit when Hamas initiated an unprecedented attack on Saturday, sending thousands of rockets and fighters into Israel. The attackers breached the fence at Kfar Aza, potentially using an earthmover to clear the way for other gunmen to enter through the breach, according to the Israeli army.

The Israeli military reported that the death toll from Hamas attacks had risen to 1,200 people, with the majority being civilians shot dead in their homes, on the streets, or at a dance party. In the Kfar Aza kibbutz alone, dozens of residents lost their lives, as confirmed by Israeli forces.

Meanwhile, the death toll in Gaza had reached at least 950 Palestinians on Wednesday, including 260 children, as Israel continued its relentless bombardment of the besieged and densely populated coastal enclave, leaving neighborhood after neighborhood in ruins.

According to the Gaza-based health ministry, around 5,000 people have also been injured.

Residents of Kfar Aza had grown accustomed to tension and violence involving Palestinians but chose to live near the blockaded Gaza Strip. Some believed it was essential to maintain an Israeli presence near the coastal enclave even after Israel withdrew its troops from there in 2005, while others settled there because it was more affordable than other parts of Israel.

Reporting on Wednesday, Stratford noted a change in the sentiments of locals in the area over the past few days.

“It started with complete and utter shock, then it went to disgust, and it is now increasingly going into anger,” he said. “Israelis have seen the pictures of the elderly and the young being kidnapped, and they’ve seen the bodies. Many that we are speaking to are vying for blood and revenge.”

On Wednesday, Israel pledged to escalate its attacks, with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant telling soldiers near the fence that, “What was in Gaza will no longer be.”

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