Horrifying footage of horrific scenes at a festival near the Gaza-Israel border continues to circulate on social media. Many participants were killed by Hamas militants, some were kidnapped, others are unknown. On Sunday, the organizers of the festival said that they are helping the Israeli security forces to find the missing people, writes CNN.

“We share the pain of the families of the missing and the dead. We are doing everything we can to help the security forces, we are in constant contact with them and we are positioning ourselves in the area where we are participating in the search,” Nova Festival organizers announced on Sunday on social networks, according to CNN.

Organizers are asking anyone with information about missing people at the festival to report it to officials.

“We are hopeful and praying that good news will reach you and us soon. In these moments, it is important to stay strong and united, support each other, and we will be there for everyone who needs it,” the organizers say.

Horror in the desert

The Nova festival, held in rural Israel, not far from the demarcation fence with the Gaza Strip, was attended by hundreds of people who came to celebrate Sukkot with dancing.

However, early in the morning, Hamas militants attacked the participants of the open-air party, which included foreigners. People began to flee, but some of them were hit by bullets, while others were captured by armed Hamas fighters. Since Saturday, shocking footage has been circulating on social networks.

CNN spoke with several participants who survived the terrifying moments and managed to escape with their lives.

At dawn, people heard sirens and rockets.

“We didn’t even have a place to hide because we were in the open. Everyone panicked and started taking their things,” the young woman told CNN.

Little did Ghibli and other festival-goers know – less than a few kilometers away, Gaza militants began attacking Israeli tanks and soldiers. People got into cars and wanted to leave, but a traffic jam formed and the road was blocked.

That’s when the shooting started, she says.

“Like a shooting range”

Young people panicked, abandoned their cars and began to run away. Images posted on social media showed dozens of people running across a field while gunfire could be heard in the background.

Ghibli told CNN that he kept running and was eventually able to get into a passing car. He saw dead and injured people on the side of the road, but one scene in particular stuck out to him: an artist attending a festival had been shot dead near a minibus, and another young man was dead in the right seat of the car.

“It was terrible, and we didn’t know where to go to avoid meeting those… evil people. I have many friends who got lost in the woods and got shot. It was like in a shooting range,” said the young woman.

Ghibli is still trying to contact his friends who were also at the concert.

Details about the hostages in the attack are beginning to emerge as family members recognize them in videos circulating online.

A video that has gone viral shows the abduction of an Israeli woman and her boyfriend, identified as Noa Arghamani and Avinatan Or, who attended the festival.

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