[2] Nahal Oz became a kibbutz in 1953, and was frequently in conflict with Arabs who crossed the nearby armistice line from Gaza to reap crops and conduct petty theft.
[3] The previous few months had been relatively quiet on the Israel's borders with Egypt and Gaza, but escalated with several cross-border shootings in early April.
On 29 April 1956 he was caught in a prepared ambush; Arab harvest workers began to reap wheat in the kibbutz's fields.
[3][10][8] According to Jean-Pierre Filiu, following the killing, emotions in Israel "ran high", leading Dayan to travel to the kibbutz to give the funeral oration.
[9] The following day, Dayan recorded his speech for Israeli radio, in a version that omitted any reference to Palestinian refugees looking on as Jews cultivate the lands they had been evicted from, and suppressing his remark that they should not be blamed for hating the people who dispossessed them.