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In the wake of the massacre at Supernova festival in Israel, a number of international citizens who attended the event have been confirmed missing or dead, with one promoter telling IQ the conflict is “the hardest moment in Israel’s history”.
At least 260 people have been killed and others abducted in last Saturday’s attack by terrorists.
Even after days of fighting, the Kibbutz Re’im festival site (less than 5km from the Gaza Strip) is not entirely secure and Israeli forces are said to be on edge.
On Thursday evening two shots reportedly cracked over the festival site, and soldiers arrested a man they said was a terrorist suspect who was carrying a knife. Hours earlier, the area had been shut to media as Israeli forces dealt with a “suspected infiltration”.
Security guards are currently manning the site and some civilians have returned to collect possessions from the wreckage.
Meanwhile, BBC yesterday confirmed five international victims of the brutal assault at Supernova festival.
British citizen Jake Marlowe (26), who was working security at Supernova, was confirmed dead by the country’s embassy in London.
Even after days of fighting, the Kibbutz Re’im festival site is not entirely secure
One of Marlowe’s friends told inews that he was a “well-noted musician in the UK metal and hardcore scene” and was “known for playing the drums and the bass guitar. He’s toured all over the world, especially with his band Desolated”.
Citizens that are believed to have been abducted from Supernova are a 26-year-old named Avidan from France, a German-Israeli woman called Shani Louk and a Chinese-Israeli woman named Noa Argamani.
A 22-year-old Irish-Israeli woman named Kim Danti is unaccounted for. RTÉ, the country’s national broadcaster, reports that she was last seen at the music festival.
Executives from Israel’s live music industry have called the Supernova massacre the “biggest-ever disaster at a music festival” and some say business will be paused for the foreseeable future.
“This is the hardest moment in Israel’s history,” Hillel Wachs of local promoter 2b Vibes today told IQ. “Over 900 people were butchered ISIS-style and the body count continues. This will significantly set back the live industry and clearly complicate our efforts to promote shows. I imagine 2024 will be relatively quiet. Our biggest hope now is that everyone returns home safely and this ends as soon as possible. Our thoughts are with the families of victims.”
Israel said that 1,300 people were killed during rocket attacks and deadly raids into Israeli territory by fighters from the Hamas terrorist group. More than 3,000 people have been wounded. Israel said Thursday it had so far confirmed the identities of 97 hostages taken to Gaza.
Officials in Gaza said that more than 1,500 people had been killed and 6,600 wounded by retaliatory strikes by Israel.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday vowed to “crush and destroy” Hamas and said every member of the organisation was a “dead man”.
Meanwhile, entertainment industry leaders have signed an open letter released by the non-profit entertainment industry organisation, Creative Community for Peace (CCFP), condemning the Hamas terrorist group.
Signatories include Irving Azoff, CEO/chairman, Full Stop Management; Bryan Lourd, CEO, CAA; Richard Lovett, co-chairman, Jim Berkus, chairman of the Board of Directors, UTA and Rick Rosen, co-founder, Endeavor.
The CCFP letter calls on the entertainment community to speak out forcefully against Hamas, support Israel, refrain from sharing misinformation about the war, and do whatever is in their power to urge the terrorist organisation to return the hostages to their families.
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