Shani Louk, a German-Israeli national, was among festivalgoers who had gathered in farmland near the Gaza-Israel border for what was supposed to be an all-night dance party celebrating the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
Instead, in the early hours of Saturday morning, it was swarmed by Hamas fighters who gunned down revelers and took others hostage, as they launched an unprecedented assault on Israel.
Louk was later pictured in a video, identified by her dreadlocks and tattoos, being paraded through Gaza as onlookers shouted “Allahu Akbar.”
She is among a large number of Israeli nationals who have been taken hostage by Hamas militants and are now being held in locations across Gaza, complicating Israel’s response to the deadly attack.
Israel is taking pains to establish the exact number of hostages that have been taken into Gaza, an isolated coastal enclave of almost 2 million people crammed into 140 square miles, one of the most densely populated places in the world.
Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, the military’s international spokesperson, told CNN on Sunday that “dozens” had been captured and emphasized just how complex the situation was as the army launched air strikes on Gaza in retaliation. In an earlier briefing he had said “civilians, children and grandmothers” were among those being held captive.
Hamas claims it has captured dozens of Israelis, including soldiers, and videos authenticated by CNN show some of the dramatic seizures.
Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, has warned attacks in the area could impact hostages, with its spokesman, Abu Obaida, saying in a recorded audio message Saturday that they were “present in all axes in the Gaza Strip.”
Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson, told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that “it is unprecedented in our history that we have so many Israeli nationals in the hands of a terrorist organization.”
It has been more than 17 years since an Israeli soldier was taken as a prisoner of war in an assault on Israeli territory. And Israel has not seen this kind of infiltration of military bases, towns and kibbutzim since town-by-town fighting in the 1948 war of independence.
I just wonder who was thinking of organising a mass event so close to the Gaza strip, which hasn’t had a pristine track record, is a good idea. And who from the Israel side gave them the green light.
Seriously, this should have not happened in the first place. And perhaps this tragedy could have been avoided.
Don’t blame the victims for being at a party. Blame the gunmen who killed 260 of them in minutes.
But look at the way they dressed, they were basically asking for it! /s
Not a bulletproof vest in sight.
On the anniversary of the Yom Kippur War. With an enemy that plans attacks corresponding with anniversaries.
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Who is blaming the victims? I am just saying that organising a concert so close to disputed territory was a stupid idea, which put a lot of innocents at an extra risk.
In an ideal world this would not have happened and Palestine wouldn’t have been held hostage and we would have all lived in peace but unfortunately we don’t live in such utopia.
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In an ideal world Palestine wouldn’t be a subject to such an inhumane treatment as well. In an ideal world kids should not die out of hunger, or people have their homes destroyed. In an ideal world such an oppressed nation like Israel wouldn’t turn into a modern day oppressor.
In an ideal world slavery or racial crimes would not exist. In an ideal world people would not kill each other out of hatred, and don’t tell me that the fault lies only with one of the sides, because that’s a very shortsighted way of thinking.
But we don’t live in such utopia, are we? We live in a world where people generalise other people, where innocents are suffering every day, where justice is served by the victors.
According to your logic everyone who is locking their front door or installing an alarm system is a fool with a victim mentality.
That’s victim blaming.
It’s like saying victims of rape should dress more modestly or avoid sketchy neighborhoods, otherwise they’re “asking for it”.
Can people use more precautions? Sure. But it’s never okay to dismiss atrocities done to a person by someone else because they weren’t careful enough.
Ugh, your logic is skewed, this is called basic precaution. You as a parent would you allow your kid to go there? I know I wouldn’t! Same reason that I would avoid some sketchy places at night. Because I don’t want to put myself and my child at an extra risk.
Would you go camping in Afghanistan for example? Of course you can, but is it wise? Probably not very much.
This festival was 6km away from the Gaza strip! In a remote desert place! They should have applied for permission from the local authorities. And someone there has signed this permission, knowing perfectly well that this would expose the festival goers to an extra risk. That’s unacceptable!
But it is not the victim’s fault that these occur. Nothing else matters when assigning blame. You can take actions to minimize risk, but that does not excuse the actions of people who choose to commit acts of violence.
Placing the burden of preventing this situation on the victim as you are is the very essence of victim blaming.
And my only point is that the local authorities could have taken preventive measures to minimize the risk which they did not!
No, it isn’t. Victim blaming is a thing, but there needs to be some limits or the concept loses any significance.
“Dress modestly when you go out else you get raped” is victim blaming.
“Don’t organise an international event in one the world’s most dangerous and war-ridden regions of the globe, literally a handful of Kms from a fence, armed checkpoints, and automated machine gun turrets” is reasonable common sense.
Yes Israel is a bizarre place, where warfare and terror is always a breath away, yet people are having music festivals and bootstrapping tech startups all the while.