Hamas terrorists attacked hundreds of young people taking part in a music festival in the Re’im kibbutz in southern Israel, near the Gaza Strip, according to the Associated Press and several Israeli media outlets. Witnesses told the Times of Israel that rockets were fired, followed by shots fired into the crowd as participants tried to flee.
The ZAKA group, made up of volunteers who help respond to community emergencies in Israel and are responsible for identifying victims of terrorism and other disasters, said today (8) that they had identified more than 250 bodies of victims who were at the festival. Several people who were attending the festival are considered missing, causing friends and family to post photos on social media in an attempt to obtain any kind of information.
Hamas launched a major attack on Israel on Saturday morning, with more than 4,000 rockets fired and an unprecedented attack by armed men on border communities, including the music festival. So far, the number of victims exceeds 600 dead and 2050 injured, with figures being updated constantly.
According to political scientist André Lajst, executive president of StandWithUs Brazil, “Israel will do everything to protect its citizens and to avoid harm to those not involved, but the terrorist organizations consciously operate using the civilian population, committing a double war crime: firing indiscriminately at Israeli civilians, using the civilian residents of the Gaza Strip as human shields.”
Photo above: Hundreds of people flee armed men at a music festival near Kibbutz Re’im, October 7, 2023. (Photo: Reproduction/Times of Israel)