A night of music, dancing, and joy at the NOVA festival in southern Israel turned into a horrible slaughter that killed over 250 young men and women.
The sound of a siren warning of oncoming missiles greeted festivalgoers as the dawn rose.
What happened next, however, was beyond anyone’s greatest nightmares, with eyewitnesses reporting a horrific ambush by Hamas terrorists.
The first indication that something was wrong came with the blasting of a siren at dawn, signifying the potential threat of rocket assaults.
Attendee Ortel remembered the terrifying moment when the power went out and terrorists invaded the arena, shooting fire in all directions.
She told the Israeli television station Channel 12, “They turned off the electricity, and suddenly out of nowhere they [terrorists] come inside with gunfire, opening fire in every direction.”
According to eyewitness accounts, roughly fifty attackers appeared in vans dressed in military clothes, completely catching festivalgoers off guard.
While many people were aware of the danger of rocket fire in the region, the explosion of gunfire caught everyone off guard.
In the ensuing mayhem, festivalgoers such as Adam Barel sought to flee in their cars.
They were confronted, however, by a frightening jeep loaded with gunmen who opened fire on the fleeing vehicles. “People were hit,” Adam said. “We hid. Everyone took off running in different directions.”
The magnitude of the catastrophe is yet unknown, with the number of casualties and injured still counting.
A new clip of drone video from the site of the overnight rave attacked by Palestinian fighters provides the fullest visual picture yet of what happened, showing scores of burned and shot up cars at the festival's entrance: https://t.co/hstMWy8Y1G pic.twitter.com/WUXwlNiCJN
— Evan Hill (@evanhill) October 9, 2023
There are also suspicions that Hamas terrorists may have abducted hostages from the party, a technique they have used in other towns and villages.
Yaniv, a responding emergency medic, detailed the terrible aftermath of the attack, saying, “There are at least 200 bodies of Israelis in the area I was in.” He went on to label it a “massacre” and that he had never seen anything like it in his life.
The ambush appeared to have been well organized, with militants strategically positioned to attack those exiting emergency exits and even inside the restrooms, according to Yaniv.
Yaniv’s disturbing report implies that the assailants may have had intelligence on the event and its guests.
The tragedy’s scope is extremely heartbreaking, with around 3,000 people attending the festival.
Authorities and festival organizers have jointly launched an online form where individuals can attach files and provide details about missing persons and those who are still unaccounted for.
This vital information will be shared with patrol forces and the army to aid in locating and assisting those in need.
We earnestly encourage anyone with additional information about family members and friends who have not yet made contact to utilize this platform, as it may be a crucial lifeline in reuniting loved ones during this harrowing time.
Hamas has announced in an unusual statement that they have well over 100 hostages with a number of them being Western Nationals who were captured during the music festival.
It is quite unusual for Hamas to publicly admit to having hostages but this could be an attempt to have Western Countries place pressure on Israel to not launch a ground invasion of Gaza due to fears that they may kill the hostages.
This is a developing story.
