Israel-Hamas war: Israeli model ‘hid under boyfriend’s dead body’ at festival as Hamas attacked
An Israeli model who survived the Hamas festival massacre has recounted how she was forced to hide under her boyfriend’s dead body.
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Welcome back to our live coverage of the war between Israel and Hamas.
Israel has battled into the fifth week of its war against Hamas and marked the milestone by sharing disturbing footage of the bloody aftermath at the Tribe of Nova music festival massacre.
“Four weeks ago today, 200+ young Israelis were butchered by Hamas terrorists at the Nova music festival,” the country’s official X account wrote Saturday.
The Israeli army said its troops had launched an operation in southern Gaza overnight, after deadly strikes hit an ambulance convoy and a school-turned-refugee shelter in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
The IDF said it had come under attack several times from Hamas “tunnel shafts and military compounds” in northern Gaza and had killed many “terrorists” and destroyed three observation posts. Hamas said it had hit an Israeli convoy with mortar fire.
Meanwhile, there are concerns Hassan Nasrallah, who runs Lebanon’s Hezbollah, could escalate the conflict with Israel leading to a war on two fronts.
Nasrallah said “all options are open” depending on Israel’s actions in Gaza.
The US immediately warned Hezbollah, an Iranian backed anti-Israel militant group, not to “take advantage” of the conflict.
But one particular comment Nasrallah made raised eyebrows. He sought to distance both Hezbollah and its backer Iran from Hamas’ October 7 massacre saying it was a “100 per cent Palestinian” organised attack which had been “kept secret” from all others.
Since October 7, Israel has been engaged in a fierce war with Hamas, after the Palestinian militant group that rules the region carried out a deadly attack in southern Israel that killed 1,400 people, mainly civilians, according to Israeli officials. Israel has retaliated with relentless strikes and a ground invasion of Gaza, where more than 9,400 people, also mostly civilians, have been killed according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
Read on for the latest updates.
US Secretary of State travels to West Bank
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has made a high-security surprise visit to the Israeli-occupied West Bank, meeting with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.
The top US diplomat met with Abbas in Ramallah as global concern grows over rising violence in the occupied territory in tandem with the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza since October 7.
Blinken has visited Israel since the start of the war, but this was his first trip to the West Bank.
Blinken, who met with Israeli officials on Friday, said he heard “a clear commitment from the government to deal with extremist violence in the West Bank, to condemn it, to take action to prevent it, to take action against those who perpetrate it.”
“This is important, and we will be looking closely to ensure that our friends make good on that commitment,” he said.
Model ‘hid under boyfriend’s body’ at festival
A 27-year-old Israeli model who survived the Hamas festival massacre has recounted how she was forced to hide under her boyfriend‘s dead body in the back of a skip as terrorists crossed the Israel border and massacred innocent civilians.
Noam Mazal Ben-David said she played dead for two hours surrounded by a pile of corpses, after her partner David Neman and dozens of others were gunned down by Hamas terrorists.
She was losing blood rapidly after being shot in the foot and hip but remained silent to stay alive.
The massacre occurred during the Supernova Festival in southern Israel, which was initially billed as a celebration of “friends, love, and infinite freedom”.
“They surrounded us and they just kept shooting, non-stop,” she said.
“I heard one girl scream ‘Please don’t take me. Just leave me alone’. But they still kidnapped her. They did terrible, terrible things to her.
“As the Hamas gunmen approached, David took me and threw me to the back of the container telling me to get as deep as I could and to hide. One of them jumped inside and yelled ‘Allahu Akbar’ and a bomb went off, and they started shooting non-stop.
“It was Russian roulette as to who would get a bullet.”
More than 30 killed at refugee camp: Palestine
The Hamas-run health ministry said more than 30 people were killed in an Israeli strike on the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza late Saturday.
An Israeli military spokesperson said they were looking into whether its troops had been operating in the area at the time.
Earlier on Saturday, the health ministry said at least 15 people were killed when Israel struck the Al-Fakhura school in Jabalia refugee camp, operated by the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA.
Thousands of displaced Palestinians were sheltering at the school in the north of the Palestinian territory when it was hit, a ministry spokesperson said.
Islamic preacher labels Australians ‘hypocrites’
An Islamic preacher in Sydney has urged Muslims to wage “jihad”, calling Australians “hypocrites” for “forgetting its dark past”.
Speaking at Al Madina Dawah Centre in Southwest Sydney, ‘Brother Ismail’ took aim at Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the federal government and intelligence service, and Islamic leaders who had criticised Jihad fighters overseas.
He declared the Hamas members who attacked Israelis on October 7 were not terrorists and instead “freedom fighters” and “warriors”.
“There is no other way to defend Muslims... they are so thrilled and looking forward to joining the Mujahedin,” he said, first reported by The Australian.
“That hypocrite Albanese when he came and stepped and dirtied one of the mosques saying and claiming and putting the mouth of hypocrisy and lies to the Muslims, that we love Muslims and respect them. Not long after Allah exposed his lies when he (Albanese) said Israel has the right to defend itself, when he labelled Hamas as terrorists.
“We say to every individual who said Hamas were terrorists, did you (Australia) really forget your dark history,” he said.
“Did you really forget what your ancestors did to the native people in this country, how they killed them, how they chained them like dogs... did you forget that you celebrate every year a massacre you did to the native people. You want to come and teach us about morals?”
He went on to claim “Jihad is the solution” and ridiculed ASIO for “wanting to deport me”.
“Go look at your past and open your eyes,” he said.
“This is called Jihad that you have no idea about.”
“If the Australian government or ASIO like it or not, if they want to deport me or not, the Jihad is the solution for the Ummah (the Islamic community)…,” he also said.
“There is no other way but fighting in the sake of Allah.”
‘F*** Joe Biden’: Protesters smear White House fence in red paint
Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters massed in Washington, DC, in the US, before descending upon the White House to chant, “Allahu Akbar” and “F*** Joe Biden”, at a rally on Saturday afternoon.
“From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” the crowd dotted with Palestinian flags and signs cried at the start of the event, which drew attendees from across the country.
The chant – which is growing increasingly popular in the wake of Hamas’ deadly incursion into southern Israel last month and Israel’s subsequent retaliatory attacks on Gaza – is widely considered anti-Semitic because it implies the elimination of the State of Israel and its people.
Others chanted, “Long live the Intifada,” an Arabic word used to refer to Palestinian uprising, specifically to conflicts that ran from 1987 and 1993 and from 2000 to about 2005 that left thousands dead.
Unofficial reports estimate 300,000 showed up to the protest, but DC Police could not confirm.
As the protesters began marching down the roadways of DC, many stopped outside the White House to yell for Biden to call for a ceasefire. It is unclear if Biden was there.
Around 7:30pm, protesters were smearing red paint on the gates of the White House and chanting: “Allahu Akbar,” “F*** Joe Biden”.
While the protest took shape in the nation’s capital, more than 1,000 pro-Palestinian demonstrators blocked traffic in Manhattan’s Herald Square, demanding a ceasefire, before the throng moved east to the United Nations, where the crowd swelled to 2,000, police sources told The New York Post.
There were no incidents or arrests before the crowd dispersed around 7:30pm, the sources said.
Protests broke out elsewhere around the world over the weekend, including in London where thousands swarmed for a pro-Palestinian rally at Trafalgar Square.
Police said four officers were injured at the rally after protesters launched fireworks towards police, with 29 people arrested for a number of offences including racial hatred, other racially motivated crimes, violence and assaulting a police officer.
Hamas supporters fire fireworks at police in Trafalgar Square, London as police stand in fear and fail to arrest the perpetrators. pic.twitter.com/xe3ETdkWbZ
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) November 4, 2023
– With the New York Post
UN outrage at Israel ambulance bombing
Reports say 15 people were killed and 50 others wounded after the strike hit the convoy near the territory’s largest hospital Al-Shifa on Friday, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent and the Hamas-run health ministry.
Mr Guterres condemned the strike in a statement, saying: “I am horrified by the reported attack in Gaza on an ambulance convoy outside Al Shifa hospital. The images of bodies strewn on the street outside the hospital are harrowing.”
He added that an entire population has been “traumatised” and “nowhere is safe” in the city as the conflict rages on.
“Now, for nearly one month, civilians in Gaza, including children and women, have been besieged, denied aid, killed, and bombed out of their homes. This must stop.”
I am horrified by the reported attack in Gaza on an ambulance convoy outside Al Shifa hospital.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) November 4, 2023
Now, for nearly one month, civilians in Gaza, including children & women, have been besieged, denied aid, killed & bombed out of their homes.
This must stop.
Israel’s military confirmed it had targeted an ambulance used by a “Hamas terrorist cell” and had “neutralised” those inside.
An AFP journalist saw multiple bodies beside the blood-splattered Palestinian Red Crescent vehicle.
Doctors Without Borders labelled the attack on the ambulance “horrendous”, saying the conflict had reached “a new low”.
“This is a lethal attack outside Gaza’s main and busiest hospital, where our staff work daily to provide lifesaving medical care,” it said in a statement Saturday.
“We were standing inside the hospital gate when the ambulance was directly hit in front of us. There were bloody bodies everywhere. Many were killed immediately, while we rushed others to the operating room for emergency care,†says Dr Obaid, MSF doctor at Al Shifa hospital. pic.twitter.com/MrcVAPygz5
— MSF International (@MSF) November 4, 2023
“This is a new low in an endless stream of unconscionable violence. The repeated strikes on hospitals, ambulances, densely populated areas and refugee camps are disgraceful. How many people have to die before world leaders wake up and call for a ceasefire?”
– With AFP
‘Eliminate’: Israel’s warning for Hamas leader
Israel’s defence minister has issued a warning for the head of Hamas as the war continues into its fifth week.
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Saturday vowed Israeli forces would “find and eliminate” Yahya Sinwar, the head of Palestinian militant group in Gaza.
“We will find Sinwar and will eliminate him,” he said. “I tell the residents of Gaza – if you reach him before us, it will shorten the war.”
Israel’s military earlier called Sinwar a “dead man walking” after the war broke out last month.
“He chose to send the butchers into our bedrooms to kill our babies,” a spokesman for the Israeli military told NBC News. “And when they chose to go full front against Israel, they signed their own death warrant.”
Israel releases disturbing video of music festival massacre
Israel shared a disturbing video of the bloody aftermath of Hamas’ massacre at the Tribe of Nova music festival to mark four weeks since the terror attack.
“Four weeks ago today, 200+ young Israelis were butchered by Hamas terrorists at the Nova music festival,” the country’s official X account wrote Saturday.
“This is what the aftermath looked like through the eyes of an IDF soldier who came to rescue survivors.
‘Don’t look away.”
The footage shows an IDF soldier helping secure the desolate festival ground while walking among the bloodied bodies of dead revellers.
At one point, the soldier peers over a large bar, only to find several more victims sprawled between the coolers.
‘Targeted raid’
The Israeli military describes Gaza City as “the centre of the Hamas terror organisation” and says it is targeting militants, weapons stores, tunnel complexes and command centres.
Overnight, Israeli ground forces launched “a targeted raid” to map tunnels and clear explosive traps in southern Gaza, where it has struck before but rarely sent in troops, the military said.
“The troops encountered a terrorist cell exiting a tunnel shaft. In response, the troops fired shells toward the terrorists and killed them,” it said.
Israel says it has struck 12,000 targets across the Palestinian territory since October 7, one of the fiercest bombing campaigns in recent memory.
The army on Saturday sent text messages to Gazans saying the territory’s main north-south road would be open for three hours in the afternoon so people can evacuate.
A key focus of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Israel on Friday was to convince Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to enact “humanitarian pauses”.
Netanyahu said later, however, that he would not agree to a “temporary truce” with Hamas until the Islamist group releases more than 240 Israeli and foreign hostages it abducted during its October 7 attack.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah joins cross-border clashes
The Israeli military and powerful Lebanese movement Hezbollah engaged in cross-border clashes on Saturday, with both claiming to have hit each other’s positions along the frontier.
The latest skirmishes came a day after Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah warned that the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip could turn into a regional conflict if Israel pushed on with its offensive in the Palestinian territory.
On Saturday, the Israeli military said it had struck “two terrorist cells” and a Hezbollah post after an attempted attack from Lebanon.
“In response to two terrorist cells attempting to fire from Lebanon toward Israeli territory, the IDF (military) struck the cells and a Hezbollah observation post,” a military statement said.
It said it had also responded to mortar fire from Lebanon into northern Israel, where no casualties were reported.
Hezbollah said it had simultaneously attacked five Israeli positions along the border.
Hours later it announced a new attack on the Al-Abbad Israeli position without specifying what kind of weapon was used.
Israel’s military said in a new statement that its fighter jets struck “terror targets” of Hezbollah, accompanied by tank and artillery fire.
“The Hezbollah targets struck include terror infrastructure, rocket storage sites and military compounds,” it said.
Hezbollah chief blames US
In his first speech since the Israel-Hamas war broke out four weeks ago, Nasrallah warned Friday that “all options” were open for an expansion of the conflict to Lebanon as he blamed the United States for the war in Gaza.
“America is entirely responsible for the ongoing war on Gaza and its people, and Israel is simply a tool of execution,” Nasrallah said in a televised broadcast, calling the conflict “decisive”.
“Whoever wants to prevent a regional war – and this is addressed to the Americans – must quickly stop the aggression on Gaza,” he said.
Israel fires missile at Hamas leader’s house
An Israeli drone fired a missile at the Gaza house of Hamas’ leader Ismail Haniyeh who is currently outside the enclave, Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa Radio reported on Saturday.
It was unclear whether any of his family members were at the house when it was struck.
Haniyeh, Hamas’ political chief, has been outside the Gaza Strip since 2019, residing between Turkey and Qatar.
— Reuters
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Originally published as Israel-Hamas war: Israeli model ‘hid under boyfriend’s dead body’ at festival as Hamas attacked
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