The survivors of the Tribe of Nova music festival, also dubbed as the Re'im music festival, recounted the horrifying near-fatal experience they had after the Hamas militants opened fire at the venue.
The Tribe of Nova music festival started on Friday, October 6, hours after Israel wrapped up the week-long Sukkot religious event. It smoothly continued until Saturday, October 7, when partygoers suddenly noticed small black dots appearing in the sky.
Moments later, Palestinian militants dominated the music festival and opened fire, with only a few of the attendees noticing what was happening as the gunshots sounded like the beat of the music.
Survivors Revisit Horrifying Moments at the Tribe of Nova Music Festival
The Guardian cited Israel's Channel 12, which received statements from the revelers and festivalgoers who survived the event, which reportedly left at least 260 people dead.
One said that the first rocket noise sounded like it was part of the music. Shortly afterward, bullets "started flying" around them.
"Suddenly out of nowhere they [militants] come inside with gunfire, opening fire in every direction. Fifty terrorists arrived in vans, dressed in military uniforms," another witness, named Ortel, said.
The militants opened fire before stopping their vehicles and continued to do so as they killed the attendees within their vision. Some, luckily, survived by hiding in a bush.
Ynet news website also received a statement from Chen Mizrachi, an attendee, who estimated that the rocket fire started around 7 a.m. People who noticed the impending killing shouted "code red," leading attendees to flee across the desert.
Still, many fell and were left injured as the terrorists continuously fired at the attendees. Most of them suffered gunshot wounds in the back.
"It happened in an instant," another survivor, Liran, said. "The terrorists arrived on the right side of the road and then got out of a large white vehicle, a type of van. They shot from close range, it was terrible."
The AP News also interviewed the survivors after reviewing the clips taken at the event, confirming that militants gunned down people, even those who were seeking refuge.
The militants also kidnapped several attendees and murdered some of them. Festival organizers pledged to help Israeli authorities in locating missing revelers.
