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Festival-goers in Israel were forced to hide inside undergrowth and send farewell messages to loved ones after Hamas militants attacked.
The weekend-long Supernova Sukkot Gathering in a forest clearing near Kibbutz Re’im, three miles from the Gaza border, ended with at least 260 dead Saturday.
The 3,500 revellers, after a night dancing to psy trance music in the Negev desert until 6.30am, were targeted by Hamas following the group’s surprise morning incursion.
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Rockets were seen tearing through the skies above them followed by a chorus of screams from the mostly young attendees, The Times of Israel reported.
The outdoor rave was one of dozens of Israeli areas along the Gaza Strip border which Hamas fighters bulldozed into, sending ravers fleeing into the open field.
Some Hamas militants flew into the rave on makeshift hang gliders, video appeared to show.
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Social media footage shows survivors of the attack hiding under bushes and whispering final words to their families with some hunkering for hours.
One said: ‘Thank God I’m alive.’
Others at the festival, billed as a celebration of ‘friends, love and infinite freedom’, hid under bulled-riddled vehicles as motorcycle-riding militants bottlenecked fleeing cars.
The death toll is expected to rise, Israeli rescue service ZAKA says, as more bodies are recovered.
Among those believed to have been killed was British citizen Jack Marlowe, the Israel embassy in the UK said.
Families have flooded social media as they appeal for information about their loved ones feared to be either killed or one of ‘dozens’ kidnapped by Hamas.
In an Instagram statement, festival organises said they were doing ‘everything in their power to assist the security forces’.
Israeli drone strikes have levelled dozens of buildings in the Gaza Strip (Picture: AFP)
Health officials say at least 490 Palestinians have been killed since Saturday (Picture: EPA)
Israel relentlessly pounded the Gaza Strip overnight (Picture: AFP)
Festival staff are carrying out ‘scans and searches in order to locate the missing’.
Dubi Wiesnesterr, CEO of ZAKA, said on Facebook that teams are witnessing ‘harrowing’ scenes as they work to recover the dead.
He said: ‘We are witnessing difficult sights that we have never seen before in ZAKA.
‘Our teams are spread throughout the south, focusing on treating the deceased with respect and collecting the many findings at each scene.’
In one of the bloodiest weekends in Israeli and Palestinian history, Israel’s Foreign Ministry has said 700 Israelis have died and a further 2,100 have been wounded since Saturday.
More than 490 Palestinians have been killed and 2,750 wounded since the Saturday assault, Gaza health officials said on Facebook today.
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