Located near the border with the Gaza Strip, about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) east of Khan Yunis, it falls under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Council.

[4] At the outbreak of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War on 15 May 1948, the kibbutz was first Jewish settlement in Israel to be attacked by the Egyptian army, in the Battle of Nirim.

After Israel's launching of Operation Cast Lead, in January 2009, most of Nirim's members, as well as other villages near the Gaza Strip, were evacuated.

Dozens of families from Nirim stayed at kibbutz Mishmar HaEmek in the Jezreel Valley for a month, until the end of the operation.

The same rocket attack that killed Ze'evik and Shachar, blew off the legs of Gadi Yarkoni, who has since been elected mayor of the Eshkol Regional Council, and currently serving his second term.

[9] Nirim produces organically grown peanuts, sweet potatoes, turnips, carrots, wheat, barley, avocado and other vegetables, and exports them to Europe.