The Supernova festival was a music festival held in the western Negev desert in Israel, near Kibbutz Re’im.
It was produced by NOVA Productions and was dedicated to peace.
The festival featured Brazilian psy trance music and focused on free love, spirit and environmental preservation.
The festival began at around 10 pm on Friday, October 6, 2023, and was attended by approximately 3,000 people, mostly Israelis aged 20 to 40 from across the country.
The festival was held outdoors and had three stages, a camping zone, and an area with a bar and food, per Wikipedia.
On the morning of October 7, 2023, the festival was attacked by Hamas militants; the attack began with rocket fire, followed by gunshots.
Attendees tried to raise the alarm while others remained oblivious.
The attack resulted in the deaths of at least 260 people, making it one of the deadliest attacks in Israel’s history.
Many people were also reported missing.
The attack was among the first targets of the surprise attack against Israel launched by Hamas.
The Israeli authorities have not yet released any information about the number of people who were injured in the attack.
What is the Supernova festival about?
As mentioned earlier, the Supernova festival was a music festival held in the western Negev desert in Israel, near Kibbutz Re’im.
The festival was produced by NOVA Productions and was dedicated to peace.
The festival featured Brazilian psy trance music and focused on free love, spirit and environmental preservation.
The festival began at around 10 PM on Friday, October 6, 2023, and was attended by approximately 3,000 people, mostly Israelis aged 20 to 40 from across the country.
The festival was held outdoors and had three stages, a camping zone, and an area with a bar and food.
The festival was a celebration of “friends, love and infinite freedom”.
How did the Supernova attack unfold?
The attack began with rocket fire, followed by gunshots.
The attack resulted in the deaths of at least 260 people, making it one of the deadliest attacks in Israel’s history.
Many people were also reported missing.
Survivors of the attack have shared their harrowing experiences, with some hiding in bushes and playing dead to avoid being killed.
The Israeli rescue services, including Zaka, have been working to retrieve bodies from the festival site.
The Israeli government has not yet released any official statement regarding the attack.
Reaction to the attack
The Hamas attack on the Supernova festival in Israel has been widely condemned by governments and organizations worldwide, with many extending their condolences to the victims’ families.
The Israeli government has not yet released any official statement regarding the attack.
However, Israeli rescue services, including Zaka, have been working to retrieve bodies from the festival site.
Survivors of the attack have shared their harrowing experiences, with some hiding in bushes and playing dead to avoid being killed.
The attack has resulted in the deaths of at least 260 people, making it one of the deadliest attacks in Israel’s history.
The number of people injured in the attack has not yet been released.
ALSO READ: Israeli–Palestinian Conflict Explained: What You Need to Know
Hamas militants
Hamas is an Islamic militant group that controls the Palestinian territory of Gaza.
It was founded in 1987 as an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and has a membership of between 20,000 and 25,000.
Hamas rejects Israel’s right to exist and is dedicated instead to the creation of a Palestinian country in the region.
The group has both sociopolitical and military functions and receives crucial support and weapons from Iran.
Hamas is labeled a terrorist organization by the U.S., the European Union, the U.K. and others.
Hamas has been involved in numerous conflicts with Israel, including the most recent one in October 2023.
In May 2012, Hamas claimed to have established a 300-strong force to prevent other Palestinian resistance groups from firing rockets into Israel.
Hamas fighters, backed by thousands of rockets, broke through Israeli barricades in October 2023 to rampage through nearby Israeli communities and take captives back into the coastal enclave.
Hamas rockets also struck Israeli cities.
The conflict resulted in a high number of casualties on both sides.
Beyond its militancy, Hamas administers government and social services in Gaza.
The group has sporadically fired rockets into Israel, coinciding with rising tensions between Israel and Palestinians in the West Bank and expanded access granted to Jews in the area surrounding Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa Mosque.
Hamas also has ties to other armed groups in Gaza, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
