Massacre in the desert
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Survivors and videos detail Hamas’ terror attack on an Israeli music festival
Editor’s note: This story contains images that some readers may find disturbing.
Oct. 13, 2023
"The sunrise was beautiful. Everyone was happy," Shoam Gueta, 24, said.
Young partygoers danced through the night and into the morning in the Negev desert near the Gaza border, part of a hauntingly serene landscape — open fields dotted with villages and farms. The area has inspired artists and been a destination for tourists and students alike.
This was the scene of the Supernova music festival Friday night, drawing about 3,000 people during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
“It was a beautiful festival with a great vibe,” said Noa Beer, 29.
As the sun came up, the party continued. In this video taken by Beer at 6:28 a.m., festivalgoers dance just minutes before it would come to a sudden and tragic end.
Beer describes the initial moments of confusion.
“There was loud music with a bass, so you can’t hear anything around it,” Beer said. “ I looked at the sky and it looked like fireworks. I saw the security running into the area of the dance floor.”
In this video, an unidentified woman is heard asking, “We have to exit for security? But why? What happened?”
Beer describes the initial moments of confusion.
“There was loud music with a bass, so you can’t hear anything around it,” Beer said. “ I looked at the sky and it looked like fireworks. I saw the security running into the area of the dance floor.”
In this video, an unidentified woman is heard asking, “We have to exit for security? But why? What happened?”
What the revelers could not know was that Hamas terrorists had breached the border with Gaza - less than 4 miles away, beginning their violent assault on Israel.
Full video forensic timeline of the festival attack here
“I told my friend to turn off the music and get down and take cover,” Beer said. “No one understood what this was.”
“The place emptied out and we started to understand that something happened,” said Gueta, a festivalgoer who said he fled along with a group of people to nearby bushes.
A video posted by South First Responders, a group of Israeli emergency personnel, shows a nearby parking lot as explosions can be heard in the background and security instructs people to leave.
The festival took place just outside Re’im, a small kibbutz in southern Israel not far from the Gaza Strip. The red box outlines the festival area.
Amid mass panic and chaos, many attempted to flee in vehicles and by foot.
“Everyone stopped their cars and got out and just started running in all directions. Nobody knew what was going on,” said Eliav Klein, 28. “One person ran east. One person ran west. No one knew where to go.”
“We saw terrorists killing people, burning cars, shouting everywhere,” Gueta said. “If you just say something, if you make any noise, you’ll be murdered. I saw them take a knife and cut a woman up.”
“They were going tree by tree and shooting,” said Gili Yoskovich, who hid on the ground under the cover of pomelo trees. “People were dying all around.”
NBC News determined the approximate location and direction of many videos posted online based on context clues that line up with satellite imagery.
In the videos above, which were posted to social media, festivalgoers flee on foot.
In this video, an unidentified woman and man hide in a bush. The Hebrew text over the video reads: “Thank God I am alive,” and “Thank you to everyone who searched for us and worried.”
In this video, an unidentified woman and man hide in a bush. The Hebrew text over the video reads: “Thank God I am alive,” and “Thank you to everyone who searched for us and worried.”
Satellite imagery from the European Space Agency shows smoke from fires after Hamas began its attack on Oct. 7.
Enhanced images show fires burning around Israel, including several near roads by the festival.
Others who made it to their cars in time were able to get on the main road and start driving east. But within 10 minutes, deafening sirens and explosions caused panic. Some left their cars and headed for a roadside bunker, thinking they’d be safer there.
In this video posted by South First Responders, Hamas terrorists appear to kick a man on the ground outside a bunker. A terrorist throws a grenade into the bunker, sending an unidentified person fleeing.
Eitan Halley, 28, was one of those in a bunker. He said some of his friends and strangers who were hiding with him were kidnapped, shot or blown up by grenades.
“We pretty much sat in a pile of bodies and hid for six, seven hours,” Halley said.
A photo provided by the family of one of the people who took shelter in the bunker and later died shows Halley pictured on the far right.
Eitan Halley, 28, was one of those in a bunker. He said some of his friends and strangers who were hiding with him were kidnapped, shot or blown up by grenades.
“We pretty much sat in a pile of bodies and hid for six, seven hours,” Halley said.
A photo provided by the family of one of the people who took shelter in the bunker and later died shows Halley pictured on the far right.
The assailants abducted an unknown number of people from the festival. Noa Argamani, 25, is among those missing, her family said. In a viral video posted to social media, Argamani can be seen screaming as Hamas terrorists force her on the back of a motorcycle and drive away.
“The most terrifying thing is her voice and the horror look on her face. You can see the horror of her saying, ‘I don’t wanna die,’” said Yan Gorjalstan, who is Argamani’s friend and a paramedic who was inundated that day with emergency calls.
“We just kept hoping and sometimes you see an illusion. You think you see a car, but it's not. All the cars that were in the parking lot were burned,” Gueta said. “Finally, a couple of IDF jeeps came to rescue us.”
In this video, an unidentified woman crouches in shrubs as festival security guards are seen with handguns drawn.
“We just kept hoping and sometimes you see an illusion. You think you see a car, but it's not. All the cars that were in the parking lot were burned,” Gueta said. “Finally, a couple of IDF jeeps came to rescue us.”
In this video, an unidentified woman crouches in shrubs as festival security guards are seen with handguns drawn.
Some of those who made it onto the road drove straight into an ambush and came face-to-face with Hamas gunmen, who shot indiscriminately into cars.
In this dashcam video posted to social media, a car fleeing the area encounters Hamas terrorists who open fire.
“They looked in my eyes and they saw terror,” Beer said.
“I understood they were terrorists and we were completely surrounded,” she said. “At this point I thought I was going to die.”
In this video from the dashcam of a car left near the festival and later recovered by first responders, terrorists can be seen grabbing a man. Footage shows some terrorists dressed in olive green clothing that resembles the Israel Defense Forces uniforms.
“They looked in my eyes and they saw terror,” Beer said.
“I understood they were terrorists and we were completely surrounded,” she said. “At this point I thought I was going to die.”
In this video from the dashcam of a car left near the festival and later recovered by first responders, terrorists can be seen grabbing a man. Footage shows some terrorists dressed in olive green clothing that resembles the Israel Defense Forces uniforms.
Satellite imagery showed fires burning along the road beside the festival at approximately 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, the same stretch that first responders would find littered with burned cars.
This video posted to social media shows an on-the-ground look at cars, some burned, left behind near the festival.
“I couldn’t believe it. People defenseless in an open field,” Beer said. “People were murdered going to a party.”
This video posted to social media shows an on-the-ground look at cars, some burned, left behind near the festival.
“I couldn’t believe it. People defenseless in an open field,” Beer said. “People were murdered going to a party.”
The festival was the scene of one of the bloodiest parts of Hamas’ attack on Israel, leaving 260 dead, according to a spokesperson for ZAKA, an Israeli nongovernmental rescue and recovery organization.
Video via South First Responders on Telegram shows drone footage of the aftermath of the festival attack.
Contributors: Raf Sanchez, Angela Yang
Designer and Illustrator: Leila Register
Development: Jiachuan Wu, JoElla Carman, Nigel Chiwaya
Editor: Jason Abbruzzese
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