Supernova: One year on from the deadliest attack in music
Today marks one year since the deadliest-ever attack at a music festival, when Hamas gunmen killed 364 concertgoers and took dozens of others hostage at Supernova festival in Israel.
The Supernova Sukkot trance music gathering was stormed at 6:29 am on 7 October 2023, as part of coordinated attacks on Israel. Around 4,000 people from 36 countries attended the festival, which was held in the desert near Kibbutz Re’im – less than 5km from the Gaza Strip.
The festival was organised by promoter Tribe of Nova and staged under Brazil’s Universo Paralello brand.
Hundreds of survivors and bereaved relatives gathered yesterday at Tel Aviv’s Hangar 11 event hall for a memorial ceremony, organised by the Tribe of Nova community.
“On this evening we will stand together as one, to support each other, hear the voice of pain and longing, share stories and memories, and find comfort in the power of love and hope,” wrote Tribe Of Nova ahead of the event on Instagram.
The two-hour event featured speeches by bereaved family members, short films and music performances, and concluded with a call to release the hostages still held in Gaza – about 100, a third of whom are feared to be dead.
At 6:29 a.m today, the families of those killed at the Nova music festival, joined by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, gathered at the festival site in Kibbutz Re’im to mark the anniversary. Before the minute’s silence, organisers played the last track attendees danced to before the deadly assault.
Following the attack last year, the festival’s promoter launched a foundation to support the long-term recovery of the 3,882 survivors and bereaved families with gatherings, workshops, memorials and financial support.
Tribe of Nova said it was “shocked and pained” by the tragedy, adding that the attack was “the epitome of pure and unbridled evil”
Memorials, art exhibitions and installations have popped up across the globe since the 7 October massacre.
At this year’s Burning Man festival in the US, attendees paused at 6:29 am to honour the victims of the atrocity and an installation featuring the multi-coloured tent that stood at the centre of the festival was erected.
This installation has since appeared in an exhibit called 06:29am The Moment Music Stood Still, which was launched this year in Tel Aviv, and has since been displayed in New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia and opens today in Buenos Aires.
The exhibit includes remains salvaged from the festival grounds, including scorched cars, bullet-riddled bathroom stalls and personal belongings, as well as video testimonies from survivors, volunteers and family members.
Last month, the BBC released a documentary about the attack called We Will Dance Again, featuring the testimony of survivors, mobile phone footage, and footage from Hamas fighters.”
It forms part of a group of programmes the BBC is producing around the 7 October anniversary, with the next set to be Life and Death in Gaza, a documentary filmed by four Palestinians documenting the humanitarian crisis following the invasion of the Gaza Strip.
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Russia charges four over concert hall massacre
Russia has charged four people with committing an act of terrorism over Friday’s massacre at Crocus City Hall.
At least 137 people were killed and more than 150 wounded in the assault on the concert hall in the town of Krasnogorsk, on the outskirts of Moscow.
Gunmen stormed the venue, prior to a gig by veteran Russian rock band Picnic, who had been due to perform two shows over the weekend with a symphony orchestra. Around 6,200 people are thought to have been in the hall at the time, and the venue’s roof also collapsed after the attackers set fires which engulfed the venue.
All entertainment and mass events were cancelled across Russia in the wake of the incident, and a day of mourning was observed for the victims. The BBC reports that rescuers are continuing to search the site for further victims, in an operation that will continue through to Tuesday afternoon.
The Islamic State (IS) group has claimed responsibility for the 22 March atrocity – the deadliest terror attack on Russia in two decades – and posted video evidence showing attackers firing on the crowd.
“Isis bears sole responsibility for this attack. There was no Ukrainian involvement whatsoever”
Russia’s state news agency TASS says the four suspects have been officially identified as citizens of Tajikistan and have been remanded in custody until at least 22 May. The men were arrested in the Bryansk region, 400km south-west of the Russian capital, around 14 hours after the attack. All appeared to have been beaten before yesterday’s (24 March) hearing at Basmanny District Court in Moscow.
On 7 March, the US Embassy in Russia issued a security alert saying it was monitoring reports that “extremists” had “imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts”.
Russian officials have alleged, without evidence, that Ukraine had “prepared a window” for the terrorists to cross the border from Russia into Ukraine. – a claim Kyiv has dismissed as “absurd”. The US also says that IS “bears sole responsibility”.
“There was no Ukrainian involvement whatsoever,” says US national security council spokesperson Adrienne Watson.
Meanwhile, France has raised its terror level to the highest level, with president Emmanuel Macron stating the group allegedly behind the Russia attack had also recently attempted multiple attacks in France.
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