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Israel music festival attack: Video captures minutes before terror struck, 'they turned off the electricity'
The festival descended into chaos when the terrorists attacked the site, killing at least 260 people and abducting many more
A video that has surfaced on social media shows missiles flying towards a music festival in Israel. The festival descended into chaos when the terrorists attacked the site, killing at least 260 people and abducting many more.
Thousands of people attended theparty, near Kibbutz Re'im close to Gaza. Palestinian gunmen attacked the site and shot people down as they tried to escape.
During the attack, Hamas’ militants infiltrated Israeli towns and launched missiles, reportedly resulting in the death of at least 250 people in Israel and 232 in Gaza. In a televised address, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the attack “murderous.”
‘They turned off the electricity’
Videos from the site went viral, with one of them showing militants abducting a young woman,Noa Argamani, taking her awayon the back of a motorcycleas she screamed for help. The men were seen restraining her boyfriend, Avinatan Or. He was seen being made to walk with his hands held behind his back. They are being considered two of several Israelis who are believed to be held captive in Gaza at present.
“They turned off the electricity,” Reveller Ortel told local media. “Suddenly out of nowhere militants come inside with gunfire, opening fire in every direction. Fifty terrorists arrived in vans, dressed in military uniforms.”
Reveller added, "They fired bursts, and we reached a point where everyone stopped their vehicles and started running. I went into a tree, a bush like this, and they just started spraying people. I saw masses of wounded people thrown around and I'm in a tree and trying to understand what's going on."
“People were hit,” festival-goer Adam Barel told Haaretz. We hid. Everyone ran somewhere else."
What did Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu say?
Meanwhile, Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that Israel “is at war.” “Citizens of Israel, we are at war. Not an operation, not a round [of fighting,] at war! This morning Hamas initiated a murderous surprise attack against the state of Israel and its citizens,” Netanyahu said in his filmed statement in Hebrew.
“We have been in this since the early morning hours. I have convened the heads of the defense establishment. I’ve given directives, first and foremost, to clear the [affected] urban areas of the terrorists who penetrated them,” Netanyahu said. “This is happening right now.”
“In parallel, I am initiating an extensive mobilization of the reserves to fight back on a scale and intensity that the enemy has so far not experienced. The enemy will pay an unprecedented price,” Netanyahu added. “I urge the public to follow strictly the directives of the military, the Home Front Command. We are at war and will win.”
