The police investigation into the Nova music festival massacre on October 7 suggests that the IDF mistakenly shot some attendees while targeting Hamas terrorists. According to a source cited by Haaretz, an IDF combat helicopter fired at terrorists on the scene, inadvertently hitting festivalgoers.
The festival, located near Kibbutz Re’im, experienced coordinated terrorist attacks by Hamas militants, resulting in 364 casualties. Israeli security assesses that Hamas did not have advance knowledge of the festival and targeted it spontaneously after infiltrating Gaza’s border. The festival, initially scheduled to end on Friday night, was extended to Saturday. Alongside fatalities, several attendees were kidnapped and taken to Gaza, with a viral video showing a 25-year-old woman being hoisted onto a motorcycle by militants.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum contacted close relatives of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, informing them of a “significant progress” in the negotiations with Hamas towards a release deal.
However, the group clarified that although the process is underway, it may continue for several more days. the Nova music festival
This statement follows a report on the Egyptian Al-Rad channel, which cited a source in Hamas claiming that from tomorrow morning, a ceasefire will begin in exchange for the release of captives.
However, an Israeli official stated that there is no agreement on a ceasefire. Additionally, two Palestinian sources and an Egyptian source mentioned that there is currently no agreement on a ceasefire or a prisoner exchange.
An Israeli combat helicopter was dispatched from the Ramat David base to target Hamas fighters who had crossed the border from Gaza into Israel during the unprecedented Al Aqsa Flood Operation, killing a total of 364. However, a police source has now confirmed that the helicopter had also opened fire on and killed several Israeli settlers attending the music festival.
The admission marks the first such acknowledgment that Israeli occupation forces (IOF) were responsible for a portion of the fatalities at the festival, challenging previous claims by the Israeli military and rescue services that all deaths were a result of deliberate killing orchestrated by Hamas.
Previous reports in Israeli media had already hinted at Israeli forces causing civilian casualties near the Gaza border.
In Be’eri, a settlement close to the border, Israeli forces killed both Israeli civilians and Hamas fighters with tank shells as they responded to the Hamas attack. A similar scenario unfolded in Sderot, where Hamas fighters took control of a local police station and prompted Israeli forces to fire tank shells, resulting in several casualties on both sides.