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On 7 October 2023, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the
Palestinian nationalist Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...
political organization
Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
, initiated a
sudden attack ''Sudden Attack'' ( Korean: 서든어택) is a free-to-play multiplayer first-person shooter online game developed by the South Korean company GameHi. The North American service for ''Sudden Attack'' was terminated on January 29, 2014. A sequel ...
on
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
from the
Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...
. As part of the attack, 378 individuals (344 civilians and 34 security personnel) were killed and many more wounded at the Supernova Sukkot Gathering, an open-air
music festival A music festival is a festival, community event with music, performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock music, rock, blues, folk music, folk, jazz, classical music), nation ...
during the
Jewish holiday Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' (, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed by Jews throughout the Hebrew calendar.This article focuses on practices of mainstream Rabbinic Judaism. ...
of Shemini Atzeret near
kibbutz A kibbutz ( / , ; : kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania Alef, Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economi ...
Re'im Re'im () is a secular kibbutz in southern Israel, and one of the Gaza vicinity villages. Located at the confluence of Besor Stream and Gerar Stream in the north-western Negev desert, it falls under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Counc ...
. Hamas also took 44 people hostage, and men and women were reportedly subject to sexual and gender-based violence. Some 20 of the attackers were also killed by Israeli security forces in the area of the festival. This attack had the largest number of casualties out of a number of massacres targeting Israeli civilians in villages adjacent to the Gaza Strip, that occurred as part of the 7 October attack, alongside those at the
kibbutz A kibbutz ( / , ; : kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania Alef, Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economi ...
im and
moshav A moshav (, plural ', "settlement, village") is a type of Israeli village or town or Jewish settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 and 1 ...
im of
Netiv HaAsara Netiv HaAsara () is a moshav in southern Israel. Located in the north-west Negev, just at the northern border with the Gaza Strip, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof Ashkelon Regional Council. In it had a population of . History The moshav ...
,
Be'eri Be'eri () is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located in the north-western Negev desert near the eastern border with the Gaza Strip, it falls under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Council. In it had a population of . During the massacre in ...
,
Kfar Aza Kfar Aza () is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located between Netivot and Sderot around east of Gaza, it falls under the jurisdiction of Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council. In , it had a population of . History The kibbutz was initially establis ...
,
Nir Oz Nir Oz () is a kibbutz in southern Israel. It is located in the northwestern Negev desert between Magen, Israel, Magen and Nirim, and covers 20,000 dunams. Nir Oz is under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Council. In it had a population of ...
and Holit. At 6:30 a.m., which was around sunrise,
rockets A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...
were noticed in the sky. Around 7:00 a.m., a siren warned of an incoming rocket attack, prompting festivalgoers to flee. Subsequently, armed militants, dressed in military attire and using motorcycles, trucks and powered paragliders, surrounded the festival grounds and indiscriminately fired on individuals attempting to escape. Attendees seeking refuge in nearby locations, such as bomb shelters, bushes, and orchards, were killed while in hiding. Those who reached the road and parking were trapped in a traffic jam as militants fired at vehicles. The militants executed some wounded individuals at point-blank range as they crouched on the ground. , 17 of the hostages are still being held captive. Their exact whereabouts are not publicly known. The massacre at the festival was the largest
terror attack Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
in Israel's history, and the worst Israeli civilian massacre ever.


Gathering and festivities

Supernova Sukkot Gathering was a weekend-long outdoor
trance music Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that emerged from Electronic body music, EBM in Frankfurt, Germany, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and quickly spread throughout Europe. Trance music is typically characterized by a tempo between ...
festival that began on 6 October 2023 and was produced by an organizer called Nova (also referred to as Tribe of Nova). It was the Israeli edition (pre-festival event) of Universo Paralello, a
psychedelic trance Psychedelic trance, psytrance, or psy is a subgenre of trance music characterized by arrangements of rhythms and layered melodies created by high tempo riffs. The genre offers variety in terms of mood, tempo, and style. Some examples include full ...
festival started 23 years earlier in
Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...
,
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
. It took place in the western
Negev The Negev ( ; ) or Naqab (), is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southern end is the Gulf of Aqaba and the resort town, resort city ...
desert, approximately from the
Gaza–Israel barrier The Gaza–Israel barrier (sometimes called the Iron Wall) is a border barrier located on the Israeli side of the Gaza–Israel border. Before the Gaza war, the Erez Crossing, in the north of the Gaza Strip, was the only crossing point for p ...
, near kibbutz
Re'im Re'im () is a secular kibbutz in southern Israel, and one of the Gaza vicinity villages. Located at the confluence of Besor Stream and Gerar Stream in the north-western Negev desert, it falls under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Counc ...
. The line-up included artists well known in the psychedelic trance scene, such as
Astral Projection In Western esotericism, esotericism, astral projection (also known as astral travel, soul journey, soul wandering, spiritual journey, spiritual travel) is an intentional out-of-body experience (OBE) in which a subtle body, known as the astra ...
and
Man with No Name The Man with No Name () is the antihero character portrayed by Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone's "''Dollars Trilogy''" of Italian Spaghetti Western films: '' A Fistful of Dollars'' (1964), '' For a Few Dollars More'' (1965), and '' The Good, t ...
. The organizers switched to the site only two days before, after the original location in southern Israel did not work out. Scheduled to coincide with Jewish holidays: the final day of Sukkot (6 October) and
Simchat Torah Simchat Torah (; Ashkenazi: ), also spelled Simhat Torah, is a Jewish holiday that celebrates and marks the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle. Simchat Torah is a component of the Hebrew Bible ...
(7 October), the
rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...
was billed as a celebration of "friends, love and infinite freedom". The festival site had three stages, a camping zone, and an area with a bar and food. Attendees described the crowd as mostly consisting of Israelis of ages 20–40 from across the country. Attendance was reported to be 3,500 but figures vary. Security guards and police were present at the festival.


Hamas assault

The festival was one of the first targets of Hamas's surprise attack against Israel in the early morning hours of 7 October 2023. Israeli security services investigations have found it unlikely that Hamas had advanced knowledge of the festival, citing, among other evidence, that the festival had been planned to run until 6 October and was only recently extended to 7 October. The massacre was carried out by the 1st and 3rd companies of Hamas's Nuseirat Battalion. Their original target was the city of
Netivot Netivot () is a city located in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel, located 8 miles (13 kilometers) southeast of Sderot and 19 miles (31 kilometers) northwest of Beersheba. In , it had a population of . Currently seeing r ...
, but after noticing the party they turned back and headed in its direction, where they committed the massacre. Afterwards, they again headed towards Netivot but after seeing an Israeli tank turned back again and joined the Nuseirat Battalion's 2nd company at kibbutz
Be'eri Be'eri () is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located in the north-western Negev desert near the eastern border with the Gaza Strip, it falls under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Council. In it had a population of . During the massacre in ...
in perpetrating the
Be'eri massacre On 7 October 2023, in the opening attacks of the Hamas-led 7 October Hamas-led attack on Israel, October 7 attacks on Israel, Hamas militants carried out a massacre at Be'eri, an Israeli kibbutz near the Gaza Strip. Hundreds of Gazan militants ...
. The attack opened with a rocket barrage starting at about 6:30 AM that provided cover for infiltration. A rocket siren sounded in the area. Militants blasted through the border fence in numerous locations and began infiltrating into Israel. Some of the Hamas gunmen who attacked the festival infiltrated Israel via motorized paragliders. At 6:35 AM, the senior police commander on duty at the festival, Deputy Superintendent Nivi Ohana of the
Ofakim Ofakim () is a city in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel, 20 kilometers (12.4 mi) west of Beersheba. It achieved municipal status in 1955. It has an area of 10,000 dunams (~3.9 sq mi; 10 km2). In , it had a populatio ...
police station, taking note of the unusually heavy rocket fire, decided to shut down the event and evacuate the partygoers. This decision is credited with saving hundreds of lives. Ohana also requested additional security and backup subsequently arrived, including a team from the Yasam riot control unit. Ohana and members of the production team called on the partygoers to disperse through loudspeakers. By 7:00 AM, Ohana had left to defend his city, which was also under attack. Partygoers began fleeing as the police directed them to evacuate along Route 232. At 7:13 AM, the
Home Front Command The Home Front Command (HFC; , ''Pikud HaOref'', also referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym ''Pakar'') is an Israel Defense Forces military district command responsible for civil protection. It was created in February 1992 in response t ...
officer at the Northern Brigade of the
Gaza Division The 143rd "Fire Fox" Division also known as Gaza Division (''Ugdat Aza'') is a division subordinated to Israeli Southern Command. Its area of operation is the border with the Gaza Strip and surrounding area. The division's commander is Brigad ...
received an inaccurate update that some 90% of the partygoers had evacuated as well as that there were reports of gunfire, and passed it on. At this stage, the division wrongly understood that the party had largely dispersed. Police directing traffic out of the area noticed that many partygoers were returning after coming under fire. Those who fled north were fired at by militants near
Alumim Alumim () is a religious kibbutz located in the northwestern Negev desert in southern Israel, near the Gaza Strip. The kibbutz was founded in 1966 by members of Bnei Akiva. It falls under the jurisdiction of Sdot Negev Regional Council. In it ...
,
Be'eri Be'eri () is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located in the north-western Negev desert near the eastern border with the Gaza Strip, it falls under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Council. In it had a population of . During the massacre in ...
, and
Sa'ad Sa'ad () is a religious kibbutz located in the northwestern Negev desert in southern Israel. Located near the Gaza Strip, and the cities of Sderot and Netivot, it falls under the jurisdiction of Sdot Negev Regional Council. In , it had a popul ...
, and those who then tried to flee south came under fire from militants who had captured junctions along the highway. After realizing what was happening along the evacuation routes, police opened a dirt path leading east, enabling thousands of people to escape through agricultural fields toward Patish, with people fleeing both by car and foot. Dozens of vehicles were abandoned by fleeing partygoers along Route 232 and on the festival grounds. Meanwhile, Hamas fighters murdered partygoers along the highway and at several roadside bomb shelters. Public roadside bomb shelters which were used as cover and subsequently became death traps as militants attacked them became known as the
Death Shelters Death Shelters () is a term used for the fortified shelters located at Re'im Junction and Alumim Junction, where dozens of young Israelis were killed or taken hostage while fleeing the Nova music festival massacre on October 7, 2023. Bac ...
. Aner Shapira was credited with helping to protect the shelter he was in. After militants threw grenades into his shelter, he threw several back at them before being killed by a grenade.
Hersh Goldberg-Polin As part of the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, 23-year-old American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin () was wounded and abducted by Hamas during the Re'im music festival massacre. He was Gaza war hosta ...
was abducted from the same shelter after being seriously wounded. By 8:00 AM, about 90% of the partygoers had evacuated the festival grounds. The only people remaining behind were police officers, event staff, and some partygoers who thought the grounds were safer than the roads. At the same time, a force of 110 Hamas fighters on 14 pickup trucks and two motorcycles entered Israel from
Nuseirat Nuseirat Camp () is a Palestinian refugee camp located in the middle of the Gaza Strip, five kilometers north-east of Deir al-Balah. The refugee camp is in the Deir al-Balah Governorate, Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of ...
, heading for
Netivot Netivot () is a city located in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel, located 8 miles (13 kilometers) southeast of Sderot and 19 miles (31 kilometers) northwest of Beersheba. In , it had a population of . Currently seeing r ...
. The force passed Be'eri, where a militant outside the kibbutz signaled to the force to continue along Route 232. However, the force got lost near Shokeda and instead of heading north and then east to Netivot, the militants headed south toward the Nova festival grounds. On the way, they stopped at a bomb shelter near Be'eri and murdered several people hiding there, including partygoers who fled the festival. At 8:12 AM, the militants spotted a police roadblock near the festival and an exchange of fire began as the police officers, armed only with pistols, made a stand. At 8:14 AM, an RPG was fired at the roadblock, striking an abandoned vehicle and wounding several police officers and partygoers in the vicinity. Dozens of partygoers who had assembled near the police officers along the highway began to flee either back into the festival grounds or east through the fields. Those who fled into the festival grounds began looking for places to hide, taking cover in bushes, portable toilets, and dumpsters. Members of the staff also hid underneath the drink bars. An ambulance that had been in the area for the event also drove from its position at the entrance into the festival grounds and 20 people took cover in and around it. At 8:20 AM, an IDF tank that had been stationed at the Paga military outpost and had sustained heavy fire while battling the Hamas invasion arrived. Two of the crewmen had been killed and another, Sergeant Ofir Testa, was seriously wounded, with only the driver, Corporal Ido Somech, able to keep fighting. The tank arrived in the midst of combat between the militants and police. Upon seeing the tank, the militants halted their advance and opened fire on the tank with RPGs and gunfire. In spite of his injuries, Testa got out of the tank and gave his assault rifle to a festival security guard who was unarmed. He was then killed by gunfire as he turned to head back to the tank. The militants attempted to climb onto the tank as Somech shot at them, killing one. They also tried and failed to toss grenades into the tank. Somech then drove the tank out of the area, running over several abandoned vehicles and militants in the process, and stationed the tank next to the highway. Some fleeing partygoers and police officers used the tank for cover as they fled south along Route 232, while about 30 partygoers sheltered behind the tank and were defended two brothers, Daniel and Neria Sharabi, who were both IDF infantry veterans. The Sharabi brothers entered the tank, took a gun from a dead soldier and the tank's machine gun, and used them to fend off attackers, while also applying improvised tourniquets to the wounds of partygoers. They received advice from Yoni Skrisewsky, a commander of Daniel's reserve company, over WhatsApp. The militants continued to advance along the highway, setting fire to abandoned cars. The tank and those using it as covered continued to withdraw south from the festival area. Surviving police and festival security guards kept fighting around the tank but could no longer defend the way to the festival grounds. The retreat of the tank, police, and security guards opened the way for the militants to reach the grounds. At 8:50 AM, the militants spotted partygoers fleeing east along the dirt path and opened fire. From 9:00 AM to 9:10 AM, they abducted seven hostages who had been hiding along the sides of the highway. At 9:15 AM, Major Avraham Hovelashvili, the deputy commander of the IDF's
Caracal Battalion The 33rd "Caracal" Battalion () is an infantry combat battalion of the Israel Defense Forces, one of the three fully combat units (alongside the ' Lions of Jordan Battalion' and the ' Cheetah Battalion') in the Israeli military's Paran Brigad ...
, was killed fighting near the festival grounds after encountering a group of militants while en route to the Sufa area to join his unit as it was engaged in combat there. Shortly afterwards, the commander of the militants instructed his forces to enter the festival grounds. Dozens of Hamas fighters subsequently raided the festival grounds and established a command post. They killed nearly everyone they spotted and took others hostage. One attendee stated that after cutting the electricity, a group of approximately 50 Hamas gunmen arrived in vans and sprayed gunfire in all directions. The open terrain left few places to hide. Many attendees who hid in the trees were killed as militants methodically shot them. Others who hid in bushes and
orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit tree, fruit- or nut (fruit), nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also so ...
s managed to survive. The ambulance being used as cover by 20 people was hit by an RPG, killing 18. Many of the attendees attempted to call for help through phone calls and
WhatsApp WhatsApp (officially WhatsApp Messenger) is an American social media, instant messaging (IM), and voice-over-IP (VoIP) service owned by technology conglomerate Meta. It allows users to send text, voice messages and video messages, make vo ...
messages. However, it took hours for emergency responders and the military to reach the festival grounds. Independently verified drone footage from the site showed dozens of scorched, burnt cars and
skid mark A skid mark is the visible mark left by any solid which moves against another, and is an important aspect of trace evidence analysis in forensic science and forensic engineering. Skid marks caused by tires on roads occur when a vehicle wheel ...
s. Footage of the attack, posted on a
Telegram channel Telegram, also known as Telegram Messenger, is a Cloud computing, cloud-based, Cross-platform software, cross-platform, social media and instant messaging (IM) service. It was originally launched for iOS on 14 August 2013 and Android on 20 Octo ...
, included graphic depictions of killing and hostage-taking. Upon their return to
Gaza City Gaza City, also called Gaza, is a city in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, and the capital of the Gaza Governorate. Located on the Mediterranean coast, southwest of Jerusalem, it was home to Port of Gaza, Palestine's only port. With a population of ...
, Hamas members paraded the body of a woman in the back of a pickup truck –
Shani Louk On 7 October 2023, during the Re'im music festival massacre, Shani Nicole Louk (), a 22-year-old German-Israeli tattoo artist and influencer, was killed. Shortly after the attack, a video circulated showing her scantily clad body paraded thro ...
, a 22-year-old German-Israeli national. In one of the first viral videos to emerge from the attack, her body is shown clad only in underwear, while the gunmen are exclaiming "Allahu Akbar"; they were surrounded by cheering residents, some of whom spat on the body. The Hamas militants kidnapped festival participants; videos on social media showed them being seized. It was later determined that 44 people were abducted. The abducted partygoers were taken to the Gaza Strip, where some were filmed in Hamas propaganda videos. Relatives and friends of the missing searched for information about the missing. Those abducted by Hamas militants included 21-year-old French-Israeli woman Mia Schem and 25-year-old Israeli woman Noa Argamani. Three dual Brazilian-Israeli nationals who had attended the festival were also missing. During the massacre, according to survivor and emergency responder testimony, Hamas militants raped women and men. According to survivor testimony released by Lahav 433, a young woman was gang raped by Hamas militants before being killed. The testimony was published in Hebrew- and English-language Israeli news outlets. According to ''
Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...
'' police reporter Josh Breiner,
ZAKA ZAKA (, abbreviation for ''Zihuy Korbanot Ason'', , ) is a series of voluntary post-disaster response teams in Israel, each operating in a police district (two in the Central District due to geographic considerations). They are recognized by ...
emergency response personnel found naked women with injuries and their genitals mutilated, with others found bound and naked below their waists. The Israel Defense Forces have not verified the claims. In July 2024 an anonymous male survivor identified as "D." recounted his rape on October 7 to Israel's Channel 12, becoming the first victim to do so. By 9:50 AM, the Hamas force had left the festival grounds and returned to the highway. They would proceed to Be'eri after being instructed to do so by their commanders in Gaza and joined other militants carrying out the
Be'eri massacre On 7 October 2023, in the opening attacks of the Hamas-led 7 October Hamas-led attack on Israel, October 7 attacks on Israel, Hamas militants carried out a massacre at Be'eri, an Israeli kibbutz near the Gaza Strip. Hundreds of Gazan militants ...
. At 10:20 AM, dozens of Palestinians unaffiliated with Hamas who entered Israel from Gaza, some of them armed, reached the festival grounds and began to loot the bodies of the dead. At the same time, fighting continued around the tank further south along Route 232. A senior reservist officer, Brigadier General Oren Solomon, who was fighting in the area, reported the presence of numerous militants, although he was unaware of the massacre at the festival. Soldiers from the Multidimensional Unit were sent to the area but never reached the festival grounds, as they became caught up in fighting at Re'im. At 10:25 AM, the Hamas force that had carried out the massacre was spotted by an
Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; , commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Indep ...
attack helicopter en route to Re'im as it withdrew in a convoy along Route 232. The helicopter crew, which was unaware of the festival's existence and had no contact with ground troops, decided not to open fire on the Hamas convoy, fearing potential
friendly fire In military terminology, friendly fire or fratricide is an attack by belligerent or neutral forces on friendly troops while attempting to attack enemy or hostile targets. Examples include misidentifying the target as hostile, cross-fire while ...
. The first IDF reinforcements to arrive in the area, troops from the
Givati Brigade The 84th "Givati" Brigade () is an Israel Defense Forces infantry brigade formed in 1947. During the 1948 war, it was involved in capturing Palestinian villages in operations ''Hametz'', ''Barak'', and ''Pleshet''. Before Israel's 2005 ...
's Shaked Battalion, arrived at 11:35 AM after being sent there from the
West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
by the commander of the Ephraim Regional Brigade. One of the partygoers was an off-duty soldier with the Ephraim Brigade and had called in for help. The soldiers advanced into the festival grounds at 11:50 AM and killed two attackers. Over the following hour, the soldiers, joined by operators of the
Israel Prison Service The Israel Prison Service (, ''Sherut Batei HaSohar'', , ''Idārat al-Sujūn al-Isrā’īlīyyah''), known in Israel by its acronym Shabas () or IPS in English, is the state (polity), state agency responsible for overseeing prisons in Israel. It ...
's Metzada Unit, killed some 15 attackers in the Nova festival area. Some were from the original wave of militants who had perpetrated the massacre and had stayed behind while others were from the second wave of infiltrators. Several of the attackers were also taken alive. Additional forces reached the area at 1:00 PM, though by this time fighting had ceased. They rescued the survivors and treated the wounded. At 3:00 PM, the site was declared cleared of militants.


Casualties

Photographs from the aftermath of the attack show dozens of bodies on the festival grounds, including a badly burned body bound by cable ties. ZAKA, Israel's volunteer community emergency response group, reported retrieving at least 260 bodies from the party grounds. The death toll was expected to rise, as other paramedic organisations also responded to the scene. On 17 November, the figure was announced as 364 dead, including 17 police officers, and 40 abducted. In the IDF investigation of the event, released in April 2025, the final figure was announced as 378 dead, of whom 344 were civilians. Of the 34 security personnel, 16 were soldiers, including 12 who were attending the party while off duty, another 16 were police officers, 15 of whom were killed fighting, and 2 were
Shin Bet The Israel Security Agency (ISA; , (GSS); ), better known by the Hebrew acronyms, acronyms Shabak (; ; ) or Shin Bet (from the abbreviation of , "Security Service"), is Israel's internal Security agency, security service. Its motto is "''Magen ...
agents. The figure of those taken hostage was announced at 44. Of the victims, 171 were killed and 16 were abducted at the festival grounds and in an adjacent section of the highway. The rest were killed or abducted across the Gaza envelope, in an area spanning some 52 kilometers, as they tried to flee. One of those killed was Nathanel Young, a British man serving in the Israeli military.
Lior Asulin Lior Asulin (; 6 October 1980 – 7 October 2023) was an Israeli footballer who played as a striker. He was murdered during the Nova music festival massacre by Hamas militants in the attack which led to the outbreak of the Gaza war. Career ...
, a retired
football striker In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...
who had played for Hapoel Tel Aviv Football Club, was also among those killed in the massacre. Journalists Shai Regev and Ayelet Arnin, who worked for the newspaper ''
Maariv ''Maariv'' or ''Maʿariv'' (, ), also known as ''Arvit'', or ''Arbit'' (, ), is a Jewish prayer service held in the evening or at night. It consists primarily of the evening '' Shema'' and ''Amidah''. The service will often begin with two ...
'' and public broadcaster Kan respectively, were also killed in the attack. The event's organisers, twins Osher Vaknin and Michael Vaknin, were killed in the attack as well. Danielle Waldman, the youngest daughter of Israeli billionaire businessman
Eyal Waldman Eyal Waldman () is an Israeli businessman, philanthropist, and peace activist. In 1999, he co-founded chip maker Mellanox Technologies, which was sold to Nvidia for US$6.9 billion in 2019. Waldman received the Israel Prize, Israel's highest civili ...
, and her boyfriend Noam Shai were killed during the massacre. When Waldman received word that Danielle was missing, he flew back to Israel from Indonesia and tracked her location via her
Apple Watch The Apple Watch is a brand of smartwatch products developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple. It incorporates activity tracker, fitness tracking, Health (Apple), health-oriented capabilities, and wireless telecommunication, and integrates wit ...
. Her body was found on 9 October.


Suhaib Abu Amer Razeem

Suhaib Abu Amer Razeem, a 22-year-old Palestinian from
East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the portion of Jerusalem that was Jordanian annexation of the West Bank, held by Jordan after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Captured and occupied in 1967, th ...
, was at the site of the music festival, working as a bus driver transporting music festival attendees. When Hamas militants encountered him, they interrogated him to determine his nationality and why he was present at the site. While at least one of the militants proposed to let him go, the militants ultimately decided to kidnap Razeem and used him as a translator in a hostage stand-off at kibbutz Be'eri nearby. Razeem did not survive the stand-off, and his body was not discovered for 12 days. It is still not known whether he was executed by Hamas or died by IDF gunfire. Razeem's brother claimed that when he approached authorities about his missing brother, he encountered initial skepticism, with an officer allegedly telling him "go to Hamas and ask them to bring back your brother."


Investigations


Pre-planning by Hamas

According to reports published on 17 November,
Israeli police The Israel Police (; ) is the civilian police force of Israel. As with most other police forces in the world, its duties include crime fighting, traffic control, maintaining public safety, and counter-terrorism. It is under the jurisdiction o ...
and security authorities concluded based on interrogations of detained Palestinians that Hamas most likely did not know about the festival beforehand but came across it by chance and decided to seize the opportunity to attack it. Critics such as
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
,
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
and Physicians for Human Rights Israel stated that any alleged confessions extracted under torture, should not be accepted as credible evidence, and called on the Israeli government to cease their production and publication. Senior officials speculated that Hamas may have become aware of the event through drones or individuals parachuting, and subsequently re-directed their forces to the location using their communication system. Some of the evidence cited included Hamas militants having entered the site from a direction opposite the Gaza border, and that the festival was originally approved for only two days, and was not approved for a third day (which was the day of the massacre) until the day before the festival began. Maps of the target locations recovered from Hamas militants also did not include the festival location.


Friendly fire

According to ''
Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...
'' journalist Josh Breiner, a police source said that a police investigation indicated an IDF helicopter which had fired on Hamas militants "apparently also hit some festival participants". A statement by the Israeli police said their investigation focused on police activity and not IDF activity, and thus did not provide any indication of civilian harm caused by the IDF. The police statement also said that "elements of the ''Haaretz'' article were taken widely out of context on social media and used to blame Israel for hundreds of civilian deaths on Oct 7, none of which has any basis in fact and in extensive reporting about the massacre." In September 2024 Australia's ABC News followed up on Yaniv Kubovich's July 7 article in
Ha'aretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew and English in the Berliner fo ...
that the
Hannibal Directive The Hannibal Directive (), also translated as Hannibal Procedure or Hannibal Protocol, is the name of a controversial procedure used by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to prevent the capture of Israeli soldiers by enemy forces. According to one ver ...
was "apparently applied", with "panicked" aircrews firing on vehicles containing hostages. ABC News asked the IDF about this issue, but the IDF did not answer ABC's questions, saying that "questions of this kind will be looked into at a later stage". In the aftermath of the attack, a widely disseminated video purported to show leaked footage of an IDF helicopter shooting at civilians during the Re'im festival. However, according to
France 24 France 24 ( in French) is a French state-owned publicly funded international news television network based in Paris. Its channels, broadcast in French, English, Arabic and Spanish, are aimed at the overseas market. Based in the Paris suburb ...
, the footage was actually part of a compilation showing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip on October 9.


Israeli foreknowledge and response time

According to ''Haaretz'', Israel's domestic intelligence agency
Shin Bet The Israel Security Agency (ISA; , (GSS); ), better known by the Hebrew acronyms, acronyms Shabak (; ; ) or Shin Bet (from the abbreviation of , "Security Service"), is Israel's internal Security agency, security service. Its motto is "''Magen ...
and IDF military commanders discussed a possible threat to the festival just hours before the attack. However, no warnings were given to the festival's organisers. According to an investigation by journalist broadcast on
Kan News The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation is the national broadcaster of Israel. It carries the blanket branding Kan in Hebrew () and Makan in Arabic (). Its news division, Kan News, is the third biggest brand in Israeli newscasting, after Ha ...
in September 2024, Israeli Air Force commander
Tomer Bar Tomer Bar (; born 1969) is an Israeli general currently commanding the Israeli Air Force. Before his selection to succeed Amikam Norkin as commander of the IAF, Bar served as head of the IDF Force Design Directorate, a reorganized version of wh ...
was unaware of the massacre for 10 hours. When the massacre started, the
Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; , commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Indep ...
was operating at its lowest state of readiness, with only two fighter jets and two helicopters available for short notice takeoff and only one drone was flying over Gaza. The fighter jets that were scrambled were directed to protect national strategic assets such as the platform at the
Leviathan gas field The Leviathan gas field is a large natural gas field in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Israel, south-west of the Tamar gas field. The gas field is roughly west of Haifa in waters deep in the Levantine basin, a rich hydrocarbon area ...
gas platform for hours. The official IDF investigation of the massacre, released in April 2025, described in detail the approval process the party went through with authorities and the considerations military officials had regarding the festival prior to the attack. The festival had been pre-approved by police and military authorities: approval from the
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
and
Israel Police The Israel Police (; ) is the civilian police force of Israel. As with most other police forces in the world, its duties include crime fighting, traffic control, maintaining public safety, and counter-terrorism. It is under the jurisdiction o ...
is required for any large-scale civilian events taking place near Israel's borders. According to the probe, a production company behind the festival sent a request to the police to hold an event, the "Unity" festival, in the area, between October 5-6 on September 6. Police authorized the event on September 20 without initially consulting the IDF. The Northern Brigade of the IDF's
Gaza Division The 143rd "Fire Fox" Division also known as Gaza Division (''Ugdat Aza'') is a division subordinated to Israeli Southern Command. Its area of operation is the border with the Gaza Strip and surrounding area. The division's commander is Brigad ...
, responsible for the defense of the area, received a request the following day, and the request was handled by a
Home Front Command The Home Front Command (HFC; , ''Pikud HaOref'', also referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym ''Pakar'') is an Israel Defense Forces military district command responsible for civil protection. It was created in February 1992 in response t ...
officer at the brigade. On September 29, the brigade commander, Colonel Haim Cohen, approved the event, judging that the deployment of air defenses in the area could adequately protect the festival. On October 2, the Home Front Command officer and an assistant to the head of the production company's security team toured the area of the festival, and during the tour a request was made to extend the event by 24 hours to enable the Nova festival to take place using the same equipment and infrastructure. Initially, military officials were reluctant to allow the event to continue for 24 hours, as fewer troops would be deployed there over the
Simchat Torah Simchat Torah (; Ashkenazi: ), also spelled Simhat Torah, is a Jewish holiday that celebrates and marks the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle. Simchat Torah is a component of the Hebrew Bible ...
holiday weekend. On October 4, further discussions were held between IDF officials at the Gaza Division's Northern Brigade and Southern Command. Ultimately, a decision was made to approve the Nova festival, which would run from October 6 to October 7. On October 5, the festival was mentioned by the chief of operations at the Northern Brigade during a discussion. The deputy commander of the 13th Battalion of the
Golani Brigade The 1st "Golani" Brigade (, ''Hativat Golani'') is an Israeli military infantry brigade. It is subordinated to the 36th Division and traditionally associated with the Northern Command. It is one of the five infantry brigades of the regular Is ...
, the unit responsible for the defense of the area at the time, was present at the meeting but did not pass the information down to the soldiers on the ground. The Home Front Command officer carried out another tour of the area as the Unity festival began on October 5, and after it ended he carried out another tour of the site with the chief of operations of the Northern Brigade before the Nova festival began. The investigation found that the IDF held no assessment for the event and no adjustments were made to defenses in the area. Soldiers deployed along the Gaza border were unaware of the event and the IDF had no military representative at the site. On the night of October 6-7, when the IDF detected and ultimately misinterpreted signs of Hamas activity and military officials held discussions on the matter, the Nova festival was not brought up and no decisions were made regarding the event. According to the investigation, while the massacre was taking place information did not reach IDF officials in time. At the time the IDF had not put together an accurate picture of what was happening and military officials wrongly believed that the party had been fully evacuated while there were still hundreds of people on the site. There was also little to no coordination between the military and police in that area during the Hamas attack.


Investigations by foreign authorities

As of 14 October 2023, German authorities were aware of eight of its nationals having been taken as hostage in the overall events of 7 October 2023, including the case of Shani Louk, which gained great public interest. They opened a criminal probe against unknown Hamas members to investigate "belonging to a foreign terrorist group, hostage-taking and murder".


Palestinian statements

Hamas initially denied the occurrence of the massacre and the killing of civilians. It later claimed that forces under Hamas never targeted civilians but that the massacre may have been carried out by independent groups of Gazan civilians after Hamas had defeated the Israeli forces in the region. On 19 November, the
Palestinian Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, ...
(PA) denied that Hamas conducted the massacre in a statement sent to foreign ministries worldwide and to the United Nations. The PA stated that Israeli helicopters bombed civilians after the
Hannibal Directive The Hannibal Directive (), also translated as Hannibal Procedure or Hannibal Protocol, is the name of a controversial procedure used by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to prevent the capture of Israeli soldiers by enemy forces. According to one ver ...
was activated, though the directive is claimed by Israel to have been canceled in 2016. The U.S. National Security Council spokesman says that the PA later said this was not its official position.


Aftermath

In response to this massacre, as well as other massacres and attacks in what Hamas called "
Operation Al-Aqsa Flood On October 7, 2023, Hamas and several other Palestinians, Palestinian militant groups launched coordinated armed incursions from the Gaza Strip into the Gaza envelope of southern Israel, the first invasion of Israeli territory since the 1948 ...
", Israel formally
declared war A declaration of war is a formal act by which one state announces existing or impending war activity against another. The declaration is a performative speech act (or the public signing of a document) by an authorized party of a national govern ...
on Hamas and initiated the
Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...
(named "Operation Swords of Iron"). Family members of the victims of the festival and the Psyduck festival together formed the Party Youth Forum to demand the establishment of a third-party investigation committee, which would potentially identify any negligence leading up to the 7 October attacks. On 1 January 2024, 42 survivors of the massacre filed a lawsuit seeking 200 million NIS in damages from the IDF,
Shin Bet The Israel Security Agency (ISA; , (GSS); ), better known by the Hebrew acronyms, acronyms Shabak (; ; ) or Shin Bet (from the abbreviation of , "Security Service"), is Israel's internal Security agency, security service. Its motto is "''Magen ...
and the Israel Police. Shortly after the attack, spaces were created to allow survivors and victims' families to reflect and heal from the attack, with a variety of treatments provided to help them process the mental trauma. Items recovered from the festivals grounds that were not claimed or identified, were brought to another similar event in the Sdot Yam kibbutz. In late January 2024, a memorial on the site was opened to tourists, family, and friends of victims to learn about the attack, the victims, and survivors and pay tribute to them. That same month, the families of victims planted trees inside the area of the festival to commemorate the deceased victims. During a State Audit Commission on the treatment of survivors of the 7 October attacks at the
Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...
in April 2024, a survivor spoke out about the psychological damage the attack had caused. He indicated that many survivors were forcibly hospitalized due to psychological state, could not get out of bed, and that there had been some 50 suicides by survivors between October 2023 and April 2024. The Israeli Ministry of Health stated it could not confirm the claim of suicides made by the survivor. On 20 October 2024, Shirel Golan, a survivor of the massacre, committed suicide on her 22nd birthday after suffering from PTSD symptoms since the event. Singer
Yuval Raphael Yuval Raphael (; born 5 November 2000) is an Israeli singer. Having won the eleventh season of the singing competition ''HaKokhav HaBa'', she represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 with the song "New Day Will Rise", finishing in ...
, another survivor of the massacre, represented in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2025 The Eurovision Song Contest 2025 was the 69th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Basel, Switzerland, following the country's victory at the with the song "The Code (Nemo song), The Code" by Nemo (singer), Nemo. Organised ...
, where she finished in second place.


Compensation for survivors

The National Insurance Institute formally recognised the trauma and damage suffered by the survivors of the massacre. Survivors can submit claims for recognition as victims of work-related injuries and as casualties of hostile actions. Individuals are eligible for various privileges, including financial aid, medical and psychological assistance, legal representation, and compensation for any property losses or damages.


Hostages taken from the music festival

A total of 44 hostages were taken from the music festival. , 17 of the hostages are still being held captive. Israel has declared that six of the 13 hostages are dead with their bodies held captive: Inbar Haiman, Uriel Baruch, Jonathan Samerano, Guy Iluz and Idan Shtivi. Iluz is known to have been abducted alive, with a released hostage telling that she was treated next to him in a Gaza hospital.


Rescue operations

The
Yamam Yamam (), also known as National Counter-Terrorism Unit, is Israel's national counter-terrorism unit, one of four special units of the Israel Border Police. The Yamam is capable of both hostage-rescue operations and offensive take-over raids ag ...
,
Shin Bet The Israel Security Agency (ISA; , (GSS); ), better known by the Hebrew acronyms, acronyms Shabak (; ; ) or Shin Bet (from the abbreviation of , "Security Service"), is Israel's internal Security agency, security service. Its motto is "''Magen ...
and
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
carried out a rescue operation in the
Nuseirat refugee camp Nuseirat Camp () is a Palestinian refugee camp located in the middle of the Gaza Strip, five kilometers north-east of Deir al-Balah. The refugee camp is in the Deir al-Balah Governorate, Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of ...
on 8 June 2024 in which they successfully rescued four hostages taken from the Nova music festival: * Noa Argamani * Shlomi Ziv * Almog Meir Jan * Andrey Kozlov The operation was later renamed Operation Arnon, in honor of , a
Yamam Yamam (), also known as National Counter-Terrorism Unit, is Israel's national counter-terrorism unit, one of four special units of the Israel Border Police. The Yamam is capable of both hostage-rescue operations and offensive take-over raids ag ...
officer who was killed in the line of duty during the operation.


Recovery operations

The
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
recovered the bodies of 13 people who were kidnapped from the music festival to Gaza. Unless otherwise noted, the victims are believed to have been murdered during the kidnapping, with the bodies taken hostage. *Ofir Tsarfati's body was recovered December 1, 2023. *Eden Zacharia's body was recovered December 12, 2023. Her exact date of death is unknown. She is only known to have been kidnapped with "wounds in the upper body." The son of former IDF Chief of Staff,
Gadi Eizenkot Gadi Eisenkot (; born 19 May 1960), also spelt Eizenkot, is an Israeli general and politician from the Israeli National Unity party. He served as the 21st Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces from 2015 to 2019 and from 2023 to 2024, as ...
, died while taking part in the recovery operation. *Elia Toledano's body was recovered December 15, 2023 *Amit Buskila's body was recovered May 17, 2024 *Itzhak Gelerenter's body was recovered May 17, 2024 *
Shani Louk On 7 October 2023, during the Re'im music festival massacre, Shani Nicole Louk (), a 22-year-old German-Israeli tattoo artist and influencer, was killed. Shortly after the attack, a video circulated showing her scantily clad body paraded thro ...
's body was recovered May 17, 2024 *The body of Louk's boyfriend, Orión Hernandez Radoux, a French-Mexican national, was recovered May 24, 2024. His body was flown to Mexico for burial. *Hanan Yablonka's body was recovered May 24, 2024 *
Hersh Goldberg-Polin As part of the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, 23-year-old American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin () was wounded and abducted by Hamas during the Re'im music festival massacre. He was Gaza war hosta ...
's body was recovered August 31, 2024. He is believed to have been . *Eden Yerushalmi's body was recovered August 31, 2024. She is believed to have been . *Alexander Lobanov's body was recovered August 31, 2024. He is believed to have been . *Almog Sarusi's body was recovered August 31, 2024. He is believed to have been . *Ori Danino's body was recovered August 31, 2024. He is believed to have been .


Released hostages

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
released ten of the 44 people that were taken hostage from the music festival: * Maya Regev was released on November 25, 2023. Regev was released walking on crutches. She suffered a gunshot wound to the foot, and did not get discharged from the hospital until June 10, 2024. * Maya's brother, Itay Regev, was released November 29, 2023. * Roni Krivoi was released November 26, 2023. Krivoi is a dual Israeli-Russian citizen, and his release was a gesture towards
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
. After his release, he said that he managed to escape during his captivity, taking advantage of the chaos that ensued when the apartment building in which he was being held collapsed due to Israeli air raids. After four days of trying to make his way back to Israel, he was captured by local residents who beat him up and turned him over back to Hamas. * Moran Stella Yanai was released November 29, 2023. * Mia Schem was released November 30, 2023. * Romi Gonen was released January 19, 2025. * Or Levy was released February 8, 2025. * Omer Wenkert was released on February 22, 2025. * Eliya Cohen was released on February 22, 2025. * Omer Shem-Tov was released on February 22, 2025.


Depiction in media

On December 6, a documentary titled ''#Nova'' was aired on Yes Docu, recreating the events of the massacre. The documentary uses videos taken on site, phone call recordings and WhatsApp conversations. As a precedent, Yes announced that it would allow any television channel and broadcaster to show the film for free, and also uploaded the full film to its official YouTube channel. ''Supernova: Music Festival Massacre'' is another documentary about the massacre. Created by Yossi Bloch, Noam Pinchas, and Duki Dror, the documentary narrates the experiences of survivors through interviews and real-time video footage. It also incorporates a limited amount of video captured by the perpetrators. It has been acquired by broadcasters in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, and other countries worldwide. On 26 September 2024, the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
,
Paramount+ Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access in the United States and 10 All Access in Australia) is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, stream ...
and Israel's (
Hot Hot commonly refers refer to: *Heat, a hot temperature *Pungency, in food, a spicy or hot quality Hot or HOT may also refer to: Places *Hot district, a district of Chiang Mai province, Thailand ** Hot subdistrict, a sub-district of Hot Distric ...
) broadcast a documentary titled ''
We Will Dance Again ''We Will Dance Again'' is a 2024 documentary film written and directed by Yariv Mozer. It focuses on the Nova music festival massacre and abductions to the Gaza Strip during the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, Hamas-led attack on Israel, on 7 ...
'' about the festival massacre.Paramount+ Sets Premiere for ‘We Will Dance Again’ Documentary About Oct. 7 Hamas Terrorist Attack
''The Hollywood Reporter''. 5 September 2024


Tributes

On October 9, two days after the massacre, Irish rock band U2 paid tribute to the victims during a Las Vegas concert by performing "
Pride (In the Name of Love) "Pride (In the Name of Love)" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the second track on the band's 1984 album, ''The Unforgettable Fire'', and was released as its lead single in September 1984. The song was produced by Brian Eno and Daniel ...
" with modified lyrics to reference the massacre. Five Israeli DJs, including Skazi, performed a set during a memorial on 28 November 2023, at the site of the festival. Film makers Reinhardt Beetz,
Duki Dror Zadok "Duki” Dror (; born 1963) is an independent Israeli filmmaker whose films explore issues of migration, identity and displacement. Biography Zadok (Duki) Dror was born in Tel Aviv. In the early 1950s, Dror's parents fled from their nativ ...
and Danna Stern made a documentary titled ''Supernova: The Music Festival Massacre''. On 5 February 2024, the
66th Annual Grammy Awards The 66th Annual Grammy Awards honored the best recordings, compositions, and artists from October 1, 2022, to September 15, 2023, as chosen by the members of The Recording Academy, on February 4, 2024. In its 21st year at the Crypto.com Arena ...
paid tribute to the victims of the massacre.
Recording Academy National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS), doing business as The Recording Academy, is an American learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely known for its Gramm ...
CEO Harvey Mason Jr. led the tribute, delivering eulogies, while a string quartet composed of musicians from Israeli, Palestinian, and Arab backgrounds provided musical accompaniment. During the
2024 Paris Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...
, the Israeli sailing pair and named their
dinghy A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or Towing, towed by a Watercraft, larger vessel for use as a Ship's tender, tender. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor. Some are rigged for sailing but they diffe ...
"Nova" as a tribute to the victims of the massacre. On 18 November 2024, during the ADL-organized "In Concert Against Hate" in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, Sia dedicated a slow rendition of "
Titanium Titanium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...
" in honor of the survivors of the massacre.


Memorials

The massacre at the music festival has been memorialized in several different ways. * The
Nova Festival Victims Memorial The Nova Festival Victims Memorial is a monument commemorating the victims of the Nova Festival massacre. It is located in the Re'im parking lot near Re'im, where the festival took place on October 6–7, 2023. Background On the night betwe ...
at the site where the music festival took place *
The Car Wall The car wall is a pile of burnt cars west of Tkuma, Israel, Tkuma in the Gaza Envelope, Gaza envelope, resembling the shape of a wall. Originally, this pile was created by evacuating the burnt cars from Route 232 and other places in the Gaza e ...
in Tkuma where victims' burned and damaged cars have been gathered * A traveling exhibition (see below)


Traveling exhibition

In December 2023, activists, including producers of the festival, organised the "6:29" exhibition at
Expo Tel Aviv Expo Tel Aviv (formerly the Israel Trade Fairs and Convention Center () and later the Tel Aviv Convention Center (), commonly referred to as Ganei HaTaarucha (, ''lit.'' "Exhibition Gardens") or the Tel Aviv Fairgrounds, is a fairground complex o ...
, which recreated the massacre site in detail. It was one of the first physical memorials of the 7 October attacks. The exhibit, named for the minute the music at the festival ceased in response to sirens of incoming rockets, included a reconstructed dance floor, incinerated cars, bullet-ridden portable toilets, piles of personal items, and tributes to the victims.
Israeli President The president of the State of Israel (, or ) is the head of state of Israel. The president is mostly, though not entirely, ceremonial; actual executive power is vested in the cabinet led by the prime minister. The incumbent president is Is ...
Isaac Herzog Isaac "Bougie" Herzog (; born 22 September 1960) is an Israeli politician who has been serving since 2021 as the president of Israel. He is the first president to have been born in Israel after its Declaration of Independence. Son of former Is ...
spoke at opening of the exhibition on December 6. The exhibition lasted for 10 weeks. The exhibition was brought to the United States by
Scooter Braun Scott Samuel "Scooter" Braun ( ; born June 18, 1981) is an American businessman, investor, and record executive. Since 2023 he has served as chief executive officer (CEO) of Hybe America, the North American subsidiary of South Korean entertain ...
, Joe Teplow, and Josh Kadden. The "Nova Music Festival exhibition" opened in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
on April 21. The exhibition, dedicated to the survivors of the massacre, features tents, blankets, personal objects, and mobile phones displaying videos recorded during the attack. On 10 June 2024, anti-Israel protesters organized by the
Within Our Lifetime Within Our Lifetime – United For Palestine (WOL) is a pro-Palestinian and anti-Zionist activist organization primarily active in New York City. The organization was founded and is currently led by the Palestinian-American Muslim Nerdeen Kisw ...
organization arrived at the exhibition, setting off flares, flying flags of Hamas and Hezbollah, and chanting slogans such as "Long live October 7". Nerdeen Kiswani, founder of the organization, characterized the exhibition as "propaganda used to justify the genocide in Palestine", and called the music festival "a rave next to a concentration camp." The protest was condemned by local and national politicians, including
New York City mayor The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, ...
Eric Adams Eric Leroy Adams (born September 1, 1960) is an American politician and former police officer who has served as the 110th mayor of New York City since 2022. Adams was an officer in the New York City Transit Police and then the New York City P ...
and White House spokesperson Andrew Bates. Originally planned to only stay open in New York until May 23, the exhibition was extended until June 22. During its time in New York, the exhibition attracted 113,000 visitors including New York Mayor
Eric Adams Eric Leroy Adams (born September 1, 1960) is an American politician and former police officer who has served as the 110th mayor of New York City since 2022. Adams was an officer in the New York City Transit Police and then the New York City P ...
and
New York Governor The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ha ...
Kathy Hochul Kathleen Hochul ( ; ; born August 27, 1958) is an American politician and lawyer who has served since 2021 as the 57th governor of New York. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she is New York's List of female ...
. After leaving New York, the exhibition came to
Culver City Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights to the ea ...
, a suburb of
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, opening on August 17. The exhibition was scheduled to last until mid-October, but was extended to November 3. From Los Angeles, the exhibition moved to
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
, where it opened on December 18, 2024, and is expected to last until February 16, 2025. On January 16, 2025,
Sara Netanyahu Sara Netanyahu (; []; born November 1958) is the spouse of the Prime Minister of Israel, spouse of the prime minister of Israel by marriage to Benjamin Netanyahu, holding the role for her third time. By profession, she is an Educational psycholo ...
and Noa Argamani visited the exhibition in Miami. Argamani recounted her experience as a hostage held by
Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
in Gaza. A month later, Argamani made a second public appearance at the exhibition, this time alongside special envoy
Steve Witkoff Steven Charles Witkoff (born March 15, 1957) is an American real estate investor and lawyer who has served as the Ambassadors of the United States#Special envoys, representatives, and coordinators, United States Special Envoy to the Middle East ...
who pledged to continue working for the release of all the hostages still held by Hamas.


See also

*
Outline of the Gaza war The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Wikipedia articles available about the Gaza war. It is an evolving list. Top level articles * October 7 attacks * Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip (2023–pre ...
*
Battle of Re'im The battle of Re'im (, ) took place on 7 October 2023, when 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, Hamas attacked Israel, initiating the Gaza war. At 10:00 am, less than five hours after Hamas attacked, fighting was reported outside of the Re'im Arm ...
, a 2023 Hamas attack on an Israeli military base as part of the same offensive * Psyduck music festival massacre * Killing of Shani Louk * Dolphinarium discotheque massacre, a 2001 Hamas attack in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv * Coastal Road massacre *
List of massacres in Israel This is a list of massacres that have occurred in Israel after the 1948 Palestine War. *For massacres that have occurred in Roman Judea prior to the establishment of the Roman province of Syria Palæstina, see List of massacres in Roman Jud ...
* List of terrorist incidents in 2023 *
Palestinian political violence Palestinian political violence refers to acts of violence or terrorism committed by Palestinians with the intent to accomplish political goals in the context of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Common objectives of political violence by Pal ...
* Moshe Dayan's eulogy for Ro'i Rothberg


Notes


References


Further reading

* *


External links


Official festival website

Nova Exhibition official website
{{Massacres or pogroms against Jews October 7 attacks 2023 mass shootings in Asia Anti-Israeli sentiment in Palestine Attacks on music venues Islamic terrorist incidents in 2023 Kidnappings in Israel Mass kidnappings in the 2020s Mass shootings in Israel 2023 massacres of the Gaza war Massacres in Israel during the Israeli–Palestinian conflict October 2023 crimes in Asia October 2023 in Israel Music festival massacre Terrorist attacks attributed to Palestinian militant groups Grenade attacks in Israel Concert disasters