Israel Supernova festival massacre: Death toll rises after Hamas attack

A horrific discovery has been made at the site of a music festival that was attacked by militants as Hamas invaded Israel.

The bodies of 260 people have been discovered at the site of the Supernova music festival in southern Israel.

The festival, which was taking place in the desert near Kibbutz Re’im — close to the border with Gaza — was attacked by Hamas gunman on Saturday morning.

Harrowing footage posted on social media showed people fleeing in panic from Hamas militants.

People flee from the Nova festival.

ZAKA, a volunteer group that deals with human remains after terror attacks and natural disasters, told Israeli media it had collected the bodies of more than 250 people.

The death toll is expected to rise.

Tattoo artist Shani Louk, 30, was one of the people seized from the festival.

The German national’s partly-naked and battered body was later paraded through the street by Hamas fighters as people spat on her body.

A woman flees gunman during the Nova music festival in southern Israel. Picture: Supplied

Shani Louk’s partly naked body was paraded by Hamas militants on the back of a truck.

MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan wrote: “I cannot imagine how horrific a massacre this must have been. 260 people gunned down. To put that in context, that’s the equivalent of more than five Pulse nightclub shootings. Heartbreaking.”

When rockets were first fired overhead, some people mistook the noise as being “part of the music”.

It wasn’t long after sirens went off that the shooting started.

A person identified as Ortel told Israel’s Channel 12: “They turned off the electricity and suddenly out of nowhere they [militants] come inside with gunfire, opening fire in every direction.

“Fifty terrorists arrived in vans, dressed in military uniforms,” she said.

Hamas militants on paragliders are seen over the festival.

Noya Reuven, 20, told the Times of Israel that there was mass panic as thousands of people ran to their vehicles.

She said she heard gunshots being fired into the crowd and saw people run in all directions.

There was virtually nowhere to hide because the festival was taking place in an open space.

Gunmen in jeeps also shot at people trying to flee in their cars.

Ortel said: “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,” she said according to a BBC report.

Israeli Noa Argamani was taken hostage by Hamas militants on October 7.

A video showed Noa Argamani drinking water while captive in Gaza (right).

A number of people were also taken hostage.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad have claimed that 130 Israelis are being held captive in Gaza, including Israel Defense Forces soldiers.

One of those is Israeli woman Noa Argamani.

Harrowing footage showed her screaming “don’t kill me” as she was grabbed by militants.

She stretched her arms out towards her boyfriend Avi Natan as she was carried away.

Later footage showed her drinking from a water bottle in Gaza.

Shani Louk dancing with her friends.

The Supernova festival following the massacre.

German tattoo artist Shani Louk was among those feared dead.

Footage of her body being displayed on the back of a truck sparked outrage.

Her mother Ricarda later posted a heartbreaking video and said: “We were sent a video in which I could clearly see our daughter unconscious in the car with the Palestinians and them driving around the Gaza Strip. I ask you to send us any help or any news.”

The outdoor trance music festival started at 11pm on Friday night and continued all night until the attack took place. It was attended by thousands of people aged between 20 and 40, from various countries including the US and Australia. About 70 per cent of attendees were from Israel.

Parents of youth who were attending the festival have been frantically searching for news of their missing children.

A Facebook page has been set up to help search for survivors which shows the faces of smiling young people from Israel and other countries, along with their phone numbers.