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Hundreds of people fled for their lives when a music party in the desert was in the firing line of terrorist-labeled Hamas attack on Israel.
Many are still missing. Desperate relatives turn up at the police with toothbrushes and photographs in the hope of getting answers about what happened.
There would be an outdoor party to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Sukkot with dancing all night. But at dawn on Saturday morning, rockets and sirens were heard rather than music at the festival in a desert area near the Israeli border with Gaza.
Along with hundreds of other visitors, Tal Gibly fled for his life when armed militiamen stormed the festival.
– There was nowhere to hide because we were in an open place. Everyone panicked and tried to collect their things, she told CNN.
Shoot at cars
As panic-stricken people threw themselves into their cars to escape, the roads closed again away from the area, according to Gibley, who says that’s when the militiamen started shooting.
Video clips that have circulated on social media show people running on foot while gunshots are heard in the background. Some do not escape but fall to the ground. Others are said to have been torn from their cars and shot down.
There are also reports of festival goers being taken hostage.
– It took people two or three hours to get away from the field. People died everywhere. It was a festival for young people, many died on the roads, a surviving woman tells the BBC.
– If anyone tried to escape, they were shot at from all sides. It was best to try to hide.
“Hope for a miracle”
Many families and friends have still not received answers to what has happened to their relatives. Several of them have applied to a special center that has been set up by the police during the night of Sunday near Tel Aviv. With them they have photographs and toothbrushes, the latter if necessary DNA to identify any victims.
– It is difficult, I am so worried about my daughter. She talked to a friend and told them that the terrorists were there, that they shot indiscriminately and that she hid, a father told Ynet on Sunday morning.
– She was there with a friend who is also missing. I’ve been looking for the hospital and then I came here. I can only hope for a miracle.