Israeli Music Festival Comes under Attack by Hamas; Survivors Narrate Horrific Experiences
Attendees at the festival recounted a state of widespread panic as they hurriedly fled and sought refuge in nearby bushes during an assault on a trance music event.
Thousands of music enthusiasts were eagerly looking forward to the Supernova festival which was held in the Negev desert near Kibbutz Re'im, Southern Israel. The location is close to the Gaza strip.
The festival area had three sections- camping area, bar and food area.
The organisers of the festival wrote on social media, “The time has come when the whole family is about to get together again.”
“And what fun it is going to be!”
Music fans had the least idea that the event would turn into a deadly disaster early Saturday. More than 260 bodies have been recovered from the site alone according to rescue agency Zaka.
The first sign that something was not right was the warning noise of a siren. The rockets were soon followed by gunshots.
According to a party goer Ortel, the lights were turned off and out of nowhere terrorists arrived in huge numbers. “Fifty terrorists arrived in vans, dressed in military uniforms,” she told Israel’s Channel 12.
People ran across the sand to get into their cars however there were jeeps full of terrorists shooting at the vehicles.
Arik Nani went to the festival to celebrate his 26th birthday but instead ended up fleeing the place after witnessing missiles in the sky. Hamas gunmen shot people as they ran.
“I heard shots from every direction, they were firing at us from both sides,” he told Reuters. "Everyone was running and didn't know what to do. It was total chaos.”
“At one stage me and a friend got into a car with people we didn't know and we just jumped into a car with lots of people and started to drive,” said 23 year-old Zohar Maariv.
They had to flee by foot after the car came under fire. They hid for hours until they were rescued.
The terror groups infiltrated villages and towns and took numerous people hostage.
Noa Argamani and her boyfriend Avinatan Or were not that lucky. A circulating video showed Noa being carried away on a motorcycle while Avinatan Or was being marched on foot alongside.
Friends and family are desperately searching for their loved ones who became victims of one of the most horrific attacks the nation has ever witnessed.