Israeli rave site hit by Hamas draws tourists

Published January 27, 2024
Samantha Malcar, a tourist from Canada, walks with an Israeli flag as she visits the site of the Nova festival, where people were killed and kidnapped during the October 7 attack by Hamas gunmen from Gaza, in Reim, southern Israel, January 25, 2024. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini
Samantha Malcar, a tourist from Canada, walks with an Israeli flag as she visits the site of the Nova festival, where people were killed and kidnapped during the October 7 attack by Hamas gunmen from Gaza, in Reim, southern Israel, January 25, 2024. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

At the site of the bloodiest incident in Hamas’ October 7 attack on southern Israel, foreigners and Israelis walk between placards that carry the names and photos of the dead, killed at an open air rave, Reuters reports.

Some take videos and pictures on their mobile phones, others weep.

“It’s very important to come and see with your own eyes,” said Samantha Malcar, from Canada. “You see all these posters of real faces. And you see the destruction. You see these were real people who lost their lives just for coming to a party.”

Some tourists come on visits organised by civil society groups, others come independently to pay tribute to those killed at the Nova festival.

Samantha Malcar, a tourist from Canada, walks with an Israeli flag as she visits the site of the Nova festival, where people were killed and kidnapped during the October 7 attack by Hamas gunmen from Gaza, in Reim, southern Israel on January 25. — Reuters
Samantha Malcar, a tourist from Canada, walks with an Israeli flag as she visits the site of the Nova festival, where people were killed and kidnapped during the October 7 attack by Hamas gunmen from Gaza, in Reim, southern Israel on January 25. — Reuters

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