Final messages to loved ones: Chilling video shows terrified Israelis hiding while Hamas gunmen stalked festival
9 October 2023, 09:52 | Updated: 9 October 2023, 16:57
Footage has emerged of a group of Israeli festivalgoers sheltering in the undergrowth in a desperate bid to avoid Hamas gunmen as they massacred at least 260 revellers.
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Survivors of the attack posted clips of the ordeal to social media, showing how they had to hide under bushes and record hushed farewell messages to loved ones as they watched victims get killed one by one.
Many lay still in sheer terror for more than five hours before they heard the sound of armed rescuers speaking in Hebrew.
Festival goers hide in undergrowth as Hamas attack event
The Supernova Festival, which takes place near the border with Gaza, was set upon by Hamas terrorists who crossed into Israel using motorised paragliders before killing the power and opening fire on festival-goers at the weekend.
Some revellers were seen running away from the festival in the Negev Desert - where hostages were also taken from back into Palestinian territory.
Reveller Ortel told local media: "They turned off the electricity.
"Suddenly out of nowhere militants come inside with gunfire, opening fire in every direction. Fifty terrorists arrived in vans, dressed in military uniforms.
"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."
According to Israeli media, the death toll has now risen to more than 700 in Israel with more than 2,000 injured.
The updated toll comes after Corporal Nathanel Young, 20, from London, was confirmed dead in the attack while serving as a soldier in the 13th Battalion of the Israel Defence Force.
Nathanel, who lived in Tel Aviv, died in an attack on the Gaza border on Saturday, his family said.
Paying tribute to Nathanel on Facebook, a family member wrote: "Our little brother Nathanel Young was tragically killed on the Gaza Border yesterday."
Read More: British man, 20, serving in Israeli army killed in Hamas attack as family pay tribute
A further tribute shared with the Jewish news wrote: "Nathanel was full of life and the life of the party - he carried the nickname DJ on base and at Benji's house, the lone soldier house that he lived at.
"He loved his family and friends and was loved by everyone. He loved music and was a talented DJ.
"Always willing to go to any lengths for his loved ones. An amazing uncle and brother. He was so happy and thriving in Israel. He loved the country."
British citizen in Israel: 'This is a war.'
Two other UK nationals - 26-year-old Jake Marlowe, who went to the same London school as Mr Young and photographer Danny Darlington - are also thought to be missing.
Over 100 Israelis have also been kidnapped, according to a press office statement from the Israeli government on Facebook.
More than 370 Palestinians have been killed in the retaliatory strikes, according to the health ministry in Gaza.
Hamas has been proscribed as a terror group in its entirety in the UK since 2021.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak condemned the attack on Israel yesterday, declaring "terrorism will not prevail" and pledged "steadfast support" to Benjamin Netanyahu as the death toll continues to rise.
Two other UK nationals - 26-year-old Jake Marlowe, who went to the same London school as Mr Young and photographer Danny Darlington - are also thought to be missing.
