Hundreds Reportedly Killed at Trance Festival in Israel

Hamas launched an attack on Israel yesterday, with one of the targets being an outdoor rave hosted by Tribe of Nova.

The Hamas militant group in the Gaza Strip launched an assault on Israel yesterday, with soldiers infiltrating the country from land, sea, and air along with thousands of rockets fired. CBS News has reported that at least 600 Israeli civilians and military members have been killed, with 1,800 wounded since the fighting began. Palestinian health officials stated that over 300 Palestinians have been killed by retaliatory airstrikes. While these attacks took place throughout Southern Israel, one of the targets was Supernova, a trance festival hosted by Tribe Of Nova as part of their Universo Paralello World Tour.

Thousands of Israelis had flocked to the festival, which was held over an hour South of Tel Aviv and three miles from the fence that divides Israel from the Gaza Strip. Chaos ensued on Saturday during the surprise attack by Hamas as rocket warning sirens blared and attendees searched for safety. According to CNN, many began to flee to their cars, but a traffic bottleneck caused the roadways to be clogged and forced many to abandon their cars and run. During this time, Hamas gunmen opened fire on the attendees, killing many who were fleeing to their cars on the road or the adjacent forest for cover.

“They were going tree by tree and shooting. Everywhere. From two sides. I saw people were dying all around. I was very quiet. I didn’t cry, I didn’t do anything,” Gili Yoskovich, an eyewitness to the attack, said to the BBC. “But I was on the one hand breathing, saying: ‘OK, I’m going to die. It’s OK, just breathe, just close your eyes,’ because it was shooting everywhere, it was very very close to me.” Yoskovich then hid under a tree for three hours before Israeli soldiers arrived, and she was able to escape.

Another eyewitness, Millet Ben Haim, also shared her story with the Washington Post. “Every direction we ran we had more people shooting at us; we were running for two hours trying to escape. We started crawling in bushes. Eventually I realized I couldn’t run anymore,” she said. Ben Haim then hid in a bush to avoid being found by the militants.

Many of the videos circulating on social media are graphic and disturbing. They include videos as the attack began, attendees fleeing on the road with gunshots being heard in the background, and attendees being taken hostage by Hamas. Videos of the latter include those on Palestinian social media that show Supernova attendee Noa Argamani screaming while being separated from her boyfriend, Avinatan Or, with a later video showing Argamani being held captive. The family of Shani Louk, another attendee of the festival, is holding out hope that she is alive after a video surfaced of her apparently facedown in a truckbed with four militants around her.

Footage from the music festival that took place on the Israel-Gaza border before the Hamas attack

The fate of many of the participants remains unknown. They may have been killed or kidnapped. pic.twitter.com/YoZswCEj43
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) October 8, 2023

Separate reports have said that up to 260 people have been killed at the festival, and dozens have been taken hostage. Those numbers have not been officially confirmed as of publishing.

Earlier today, Tribe Of Nova posted a statement to Facebook, stating that they are working with security forces to locate those who are missing and are passing along any details of missing persons submitted via their form to relevant authorities. “In moments like these, it is important that we be strong and united, full of faith, support each other and be there for everyone who needs it,” the organizers said.

One of the co-founders of Universo Paralello, Juarez Petrillo, the father of renowned Brazilian artist Alok, posted pictures and videos on Instagram of the attack, saying that he was in shock. Alok has since taken to Instagram with a statement, expressing his own dismay, saying that the Israeli producer licensed the event and independently organized it. He also let everyone know that his father was safe in a bunker. He closed the statement by saying, “My prayers go out to the people of the region who are victims of this cruel war, as well as to the families experiencing pain at this time. Such sadness!“

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went on television today to address the country and the world, saying, “We are at war and we will win it.” Israel has since hit a reported 800 Hamas targets in Gaza. US President Joe Biden has expressed deep sympathy for Israelis and said that initial US military assistance is en route to the country, with more to follow over the coming days.

Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story.