At least 260 dead, mostly young people, in rave in the area of Kibbutz Reim in Israel. They were killed by Hamas militants in the attack on Saturday, October 7th. Hundreds were injured. Today, with the news of the last few hours, the picture is becoming tragically clearer.
Thousands of people were attending the Nova festival in the south of the country when the crackdown began, resulting in killings and executions. Several boys were among the hostages taken to Gaza. According to Israeli media, many young people with dual passports and, in particular, American citizenship were also present at the event. A spokesman for Zaka, an association of volunteers who respond to terrorist attacks and disasters, announced that over 260 bodies had been recovered by the evening of Sunday, October 8.
The videos published on social media show the different phases of the dramatic day. While young people dance at dawn after hours of partying, on the horizon you can see the motorized hang gliders with which groups of Hamas militiamen cross the border and arrive in the rave area. Then the volleys of automatic weapons, the flight of hundreds of people seeking shelter everywhere: in the desert, between cars.
The hostages, German and American boys
The appeal from German Ricarda Lauk, who lives in Israel and whose daughter was kidnapped by Hamas militants, was shared on social media. “My daughter, Shani Nicole, a German citizen, was kidnapped by Hamas while attending a party in southern Israel with a group of tourists,” she says. “I was sent a video in which I could recognize my daughter in a private conversation.” “Car of conscience, along with a group of Palestinians while crossing the streets of Gaza.” In the video message, the mother shows a photo of her 22-year-old daughter. The woman starts a cry for help and asks for news about her daughter, whose passport she shows. The young girl’s uncle, Winfried Gehr, told the Bild newspaper that Nicole took part in the event at the kibbutz with her boyfriend.
It is assumed that there are German citizens among the people kidnapped by Hamas in Israel, the Berlin Foreign Ministry said, adding that those kidnapped all have dual Israeli-German citizenship. Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer told CNN there are Americans among the “dozens” of hostages held in Gaza, without specifying the number.
More than 24 hours after Hamas attacked Israel, several young people who managed to escape to safety were found and rescued. The missing boys arrived in the Nativot area and were escorted to a safe area by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
The missing and the pain of the families
Many parents search for news and information about their children for over 24 hours, often without receiving a response. Representatives of Israeli families whose loved ones have been missing since the start of the war called a news conference yesterday morning to “demand answers.” “We demand answers,” said a man, quoted by Haaretz, whose two daughters were kidnapped by Hamas militants. “Not all answers will make us happy. We want to return the children, the boys and the girls, to their families as quickly as possible.”
“We’ve been dealing with all this for 48 hours and some families don’t know anything,” he said again. “We don’t have to deal with the situation alone, the road is still long and the days ahead will be very difficult.”
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