- A video shows the aftermath of the Hamas attack on a music festival in southern Israel.
- The drone footage was captured a day after Hamas' assault.
Drone footage captured the trail of destruction left by Hamas' deadly invasion of the site of a music festival venue, which killed at least 260 people.
The widely-shared video, dated October 8, shows the Nova Music Festival site abandoned, with dozens of scorched, burned cars and skid marks.
However, most of the festival installations and tents appear intact, unlike the cars around it. The Washington Post reported Samuel Oakford shared a version of the footage:
NEW: The Post verified drone footage taken at the site of the Tribe of Nova trance music festival, near Kibbutz Reim — one of the first targets of Palestinian militants on Saturday and the scene of carnage. w/ @mmkelly22 @SarahCahlan https://t.co/RXKgEL4fiT pic.twitter.com/817EpG9G3X
— Samuel Oakford (@samueloakford) October 9, 2023
About 3,500 people were at the outdoor, all-night music festival held about three miles from the border of the Gaza Strip, The New York Times reported.
The festival was going on when Hamas launched its surprise raids into southern Israel on October 7.
Some of the ravers initially missed the sound of explosions due to the loud music, while others ignored them because they were accustomed to Gazan missiles, per The Washington Post.
Millet Ben Haim, a 27-year-old attendee, told the outlet that the music stopped, with a voice warning festivalgoers of a "red alert" — meaning a rocket attack.
The next thing they knew, gunfire erupted, and Hamas militants fired at them, Haim told the outlet.
"Nobody knew what to do," she said.
For those who tried hiding in trees and bushes nearby, there was no escaping Hamas' attacks, attendee Gili Yoskovich told the BBC.
"They were going tree by tree and shooting everywhere. From two sides," she told the outlet, adding: "I saw people were dying all around."
Previous social-media footage showed hundreds of people fleeing as Hamas militants shot into the crowd and took as many hostages as they could, Insider previously reported.
Hamas' militants paraded the battered body of 22-year-old tattoo artist Shani Nicole Louk, a dual citizen of Germany and Israel. She was only wearing her pants, and the footage shows gunmen chanting "Allahu Akbar" as they grabbed her hair, draped their legs over her waist, and spit on her body, Insider previously reported.
At least 260 bodies were later found at the Tribe of Nova Music Festival, according to the Israeli rescue service Zaka.
At least 700 Israelis have died across the country since the start of Hamas' attacks, according to Israel's Foreign Ministry. More than 1,600 Israelis have been injured, per Israel's Health Ministry.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a "state of war" on Hamas shortly after the attacks.
US officials said they anticipate Israel will carry out a full-scale ground invasion in the next 24 to 48 hours, per The Post.
On Monday, Israeli officials announced an intensification of its blockade on Gaza, pledging to cut supplies of food, water, fuel, and electricity.