Video | ‘Will never be same again’, says Israel music festival attendee, recalls details of Hamas attack
Israeli music festival attendee recalls Hamas attack
Thousands of Israelis were in the midst of attending an outdoor music festival in the desert when they were thrown into chaos as Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack, on Saturday morning (Oct 7).
The attack was part of a wave of unexpected incursions by the militants into southern Israel and launched one of the biggest attacks on the country in decades.
The musical festival attendees who managed to escape have recalled the harrowing ordeal as an all-night nature party – held near Kibbutz Re’im close to Gaza, one of the first targets of Hamas militants who entered Israel.
(Trigger warning: Some readers may find details of this report disturbing. Discretion is advised.)
Dor’s story
In a video posted by an X user Yael Bar tur, Dor who is said to be a massage therapist in Israel recalled the harrowing details of how he managed to escape the desert.
“I had a massage stand (at the festival). Everything was amazing until 6:00 am (local time). We saw trails of missiles rising in the air. At the time music stopped and there was shouting ‘the party is over’,” said Dor.
He went on to say how there was panic on the ground, where some people were lying on the floor others were running and “it became total chaos”.
Subsequently, Dor, who was accompanied by his friend, heard gunshots getting closer and they ran towards the parking lots, drove between tents in their jeep and picked up rifles from dead soldiers on their way.
They managed to get to the bypass road when they encountered a group of militants on motorcycles,said Dor, and the militantchanted some anti-Jew remarks at him before they began shooting at the vehicle.
Subsequently, he kept driving in a “zig-zag pattern” to dodge the gunshots but his friend Gilad who was in the vehicle with him at the time got “shrapnel in the head”. “We see sprayed vehicles…bodies on the floor…” said Dor.
He said that a group of Hamas militants arrived and began shooting at the toilet doors while they were hiding in one of them and described it as “six hours of horror”. They were later rescued by the Israeli military.
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“People will not be who they were again. Even if our friends return from over the border…those who have been kidnapped. Will never be the same again,” said Dor.
Watch the full video here:
Content warning: The visuals may be disturbing to some users.Viewer discretion is advised. WION is not responsible for the content of the video.
What happened on that day?
As the war nears the one-week mark, several videos shared on social media platforms and by Israeli news outlets purportedly show what happened on the day as dozens of festival goers were seen running across an open field as gunshots were fired.
Many of them were gunned down as they tried to flee and some hid in the fruit orchards. The Israeli rescue service Zaka on Sunday (Oct 8) confirmed that 260 dead bodies were retrieved from the site by the paramedics but the total death toll is likely to go higher as other paramedic teams work in the area.
(With inputs from agencies)
Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.
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