Hamas Terrorist Attack Leaves at Least 260 Dead at Israeli Electronic Music Festival: Report

An Israeli electronic music festival billed as "a journey of unity and love" turned tragic after Hamas militants stormed the event and opened fire, killing at least 260 people, CNN reports.

The terrorist attack on Universo Paralello Festival, which celebrated the Jewish holiday Sukkot, took place in the Negev Desert at Kibbutz Re'im, less than two miles from the volatile Gaza border. The festival's lineup comprised primarily artists who produce and perform psytrance, a popular sub-genre of electronic dance music.

Hamas fighters reportedly fired rockets into the festival site around 6:30am on the morning of October 7th before ambushing it on foot 30 minutes later. Many attendees were also taken hostage and hundreds are still unaccounted for, adding to a victim total that continues to rise in the wake of Hamas' unprecedented invasion of Israel.

"It happened in an instant," one Universo Paralello survivor told Ynet. "The terrorists arrived on the right side of the road and then got out of a large white vehicle, a type of van. They shot from close range, it was terrible."

Universo Paralello was one of the first places to be attacked by Hamas militants crossing the Gaza Strip border into southern Israel. The festival's organizers shared a statement on social media saying they are "appalled, shocked and outraged by the attack on innocent lives." They're planning to release more information about the festival "shortly," they added.

View the original article to see embedded media.