'I can't express my shock': Israel's music fest survivor recounts Hamas horror

An Israeli music fest survivor, talking exclusively to Republic, broke down while recounting the horror of Hamas terrorists that she witnessed at the Tribe of Nova Trance music festival near Kibbutz Re'im on October 7.

Thousands of young men and women were gathered at a massive field near the Gaza border in southern Israel to dance without care when light-blue dawn broke and air raid sirens were activated, trapping the fest music. Multiple rockets struck overhead, leaving at least 260 dead in the worst-ever civilian massacre in Israeli history. 

Recalling the horror, the Israeli survivor told the Republic, “All I can say, all I can speak about is the sorrow for my people, for my country, for my friends who went to a peace festival. It was the Nova Festival. It was pure trance music. The Indian people know what trance means. It's a place for freedom, love and an atmosphere to free your mind. And in that same place, so many people were brutally murdered, burned alive, raped, slaughtered.” 

Drone view of the music festival in southern Israel that was targeted by Hamas | Image: X

“It's crazy. Like the human brain can't understand this. We just see the videos and the pictures all the time. It's like it's the third or fourth day. I don't even remember it's the fourth day of all of this. We're 24/7, connected to our phones. We get updates on what's happening- insane pictures, and insane videos of developments. The bodies of women, kids, and babies were lying there, around it. I can't express the shock,” she added. 

Partygoers heard rockets, then militants fired 

The rocket strikes were heard at around 6:30 am. After nearly 30 minutes, the vast ground where thousands gathered were running as Gaza militants fired at them. The Nova Festival, situated in a remote farmland area near the Gaza-Israel border, became one of several targets of the Hamas militants on a fateful Saturday morning. This marked the most extensive and well-coordinated assault ever launched by Hamas militants inside Israel.

The Hamas, a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, unleashed a surprising attack on Israel, which combined gunmen infiltrating the Israeli territory with a barrage of rockets being fired from Gaza. In retaliation, Israel put Gaza under complete siege and sealed it from food, fuel, and other essential supplies on Monday. The death toll has risen to nearly 2,200 on both sides since the war broke out between Hamas militants and Israel.