This is the touching moment Israelis dance at dawn to the last DJ to perform before Hamas stormed the Nova festival and butchered innocent revellers.
In Tel Aviv, thousands attended a demonstration on Saturday calling for the release of the hostages taken by Hamas terrorists to mark 100 days since the October 7 attacks that triggered the country’s bloodiest conflict.
Images show young people dancing to electronic music played by Artifex, the last DJ to perform at the open-air Nova festival in the Negev desert.
At another rally in the city today, people stood still for 100 seconds, with some holding yellow balloons, to mark the 100 days that the hostages have been held.
Scenes of young revellers scrambling from armed gunmen at the festival resonated around the world, in an attack that saw more than 360 people killed and dozens taken hostage to Gaza.
Just after dawn 100 days ago, thousands of heavily armed Hamas gunmen stormed across the Gaza border fence in several different locations.
People in Tel Aviv dance at dawn to electronic music played by Artifex, the last DJ to perform at the open-air Tribe of Nova festival in the Negev desert before it was attacked by Hamas fighters on October 7, 2023, to mark the 100th day after the attack that was followed by a war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas movement, on January 14, 2024
People in Tel Aviv dance at dawn to electronic music played by Artifex, the last DJ to perform at the open-air Tribe of Nova festival in the Negev desert before it was attacked by Hamas fighters on October 7, 2023, to mark the 100th day after the attack that was followed by a war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas movement, on January 14, 2024
People in Tel Aviv dance at dawn to electronic music played by Artifex, the last DJ to perform at the open-air Tribe of Nova festival in the Negev desert before it was attacked by Hamas fighters on October 7, 2023, to mark the 100th day after the attack that was followed by a war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas movement, on January 14, 2024
As well as the Nova festival, they targeted kibbutzim, military bases and border towns, which were used to missile strikes from Gaza, but left helpless by the devastating surprise assault.
The large-scale commemorative event in Tel Aviv on Saturday saw families of the missing among the crowd members holding posters and wearing T-shirts carrying images of the faces of their relatives.
While the public in Israel has rallied behind the military’s war effort, it remains deeply traumatized.
Israel says Hamas killed 1,200 people during its assault on southern Israel on October 7, the worst loss of Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust.
Vowing to destroy Hamas, it has responded with a military offensive on Gaza that has so far killed close to 24,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials, displaced most of the population and caused widespread hunger and disease.
Of the 240 hostages who were kidnapped on October 7, more than 130 are still held captive in Gaza, although some of them may not still be alive. Their plight, and the anguish of their families, are deeply felt across Israeli society.
The country seems to be reliving October 7 – when families were killed in their homes, partygoers gunned down at the music festival and children and older people abducted on motorcycles – every day.
Posters of the hostages who remain in Hamas captivity line public streets, and people wear T-shirts calling on leaders to ‘Bring Them Home’.
Israeli news channels devote their broadcasts to round-the-clock coverage of the war.
Israeli spies and military commanders knew of Hamas ‘ plans to attack partygoers at the Nova music festival, it has been reported. Pictured: A woman fleeing the terrorists on October 7
People in Tel Aviv dance at dawn to electronic music played by Artifex, the last DJ to perform at the open-air Tribe of Nova festival in the Negev desert before it was attacked by Hamas fighters on October 7, 2023, to mark the 100th day after the attack that was followed by a war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas movement, on January 14, 2024
People in Tel Aviv dance at dawn to electronic music played by Artifex, the last DJ to perform at the open-air Tribe of Nova festival in the Negev desert before it was attacked by Hamas fighters on October 7, 2023, to mark the 100th day after the attack that was followed by a war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement, on January 14, 202
People in Tel Aviv dance at dawn to electronic music played by Artifex, the last DJ to perform at the open-air Tribe of Nova festival in the Negev desert before it was attacked by Hamas fighters on October 7, 2023, to mark the 100th day after the attack that was followed by a war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas movement, on January 14, 2024
People take part in the ‘100 Days of Hell’ rally in front of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, on what is now known as Hostages Square. To date, 129 hostages remain in the hands of Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip, held captive in tunnels. ‘100 Days of Hell’ rally, Tel Aviv, Israel – on Jan 13, 2024
They broadcast non-stop tales of tragedy and heroism from October 7, stories about hostages and their families, tearful funerals of soldiers killed in action and reports from Gaza by correspondents smiling alongside the troops.
There is little discussion or sympathy over the skyrocketing death toll and deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza. Plans for postwar Gaza are rarely mentioned.
On Israeli city streets and on television, in shops and in cafes, one symbol of solidarity with hostages held in Gaza has become ubiquitous in the 100 days since Hamas abducted them: military-style dog tags worn on neckchains.
The small metal rectangles, similar to those soldiers carry for identification, are typically inscribed with two slogans in Hebrew, ‘our hearts are held hostage in Gaza’ and ‘together we will win’, and one in English, ‘bring them home now’.
‘Everyone wants to show their support one way or another,’ said Shayna Roth, 36, a digital marketing specialist and mother of three from Modi’in, near Tel Aviv.
‘It just makes you feel that no matter where you go, no matter who you meet or talk to, we’re all a nation, undivided.’
‘Wearing these dog tags really allows us to connect to the families that have been directly affected,’ said Roth, who also has pictures of hostages by her Shabbat candles, which in Jewish tradition are lit on Friday evenings to usher in the Sabbath.
Supporters and families hold pictures of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza as they take part in a ‘100 Days of Hell’ rally calling for their immediate release and marking the upcoming 100th day of their captivity, outside the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, Israel, 13 January 2024.
Supporters and families hold pictures of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza as they take part in a ‘100 Days of Hell’ rally calling for their immediate release and marking the upcoming 100th day of their captivity, outside the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, Israel, 13 January 2024
People stand still for 100 seconds during a rally to mark 100 days that the hostages have been held in captivity in the Gaza Strip on January 14, 2024 in Tel Aviv, Israel
People release 100 balloons to symbolise 100 days since the October 7 attack by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem campus, in Jerusalem, January 14, 2024
In New York on Saturday, families of hostages and supporters spoke before turning a large hourglass in Times Square to mark 100 days since October 7.
On Sunday, thousands gathered in London’s Trafalgar Square for a pro-Israel rally.
People stood holding posters that bore the faces of those who were taken hostage, as well as ones that read: ‘100 days in hell’.
The crowd chanted ‘Bring Them Home Now’ and cheered as an organiser declared on stage that he has ‘never been prouder to be Jewish’.
It came as Israeli strikes pounded Gaza on the 100th day of the war sparked by the Hamas attack which has claimed a surging civilian death toll and ravaged the besieged Palestinian territory.
Since October 7, Israel has relentlessly targeted the Gaza Strip with airstrikes and a ground offensive that have wrought unprecedented destruction, flattening entire neighbourhoods.
The offensive has displaced the vast majority of Palestinians in Gaza, shuttered operations in more than half of Gaza’s hospitals and caused widespread hunger, UN monitors say.
A girl holds a poster of hostages near a large hourglass in Times Square on January 13, 2024 in New York City
Pro-Israeli supporters wave Israeli and pre-revolution Iranian flags as they gather for a demonstration in Trafalgar Square in central London on January 14, 2024, to show support for the bereaved families, families of hostages, soldiers and the people of Israel
Britain’s former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who was sacked for her attack on policing double standards when it comes to protesters, joins pro-Israeli supporters as they gather for a demonstration in Trafalgar Square in central London on January 14, 2024
Pro-Israeli supporters hold placards as they gather for a demonstration in Trafalgar Square in central London on January 14, 2024, to show support for the bereaved families, families of hostages, soldiers and the people of Israel
The Israeli military says it has now scaled back operations in the hard-hit north. But in the south, where it says Hamas’s leaders are hiding, it presses forward at full strength.
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia and Israel have engaged in cross-border skirmishes nearly every day since the war began.
The Israeli military says the war will stretch on throughout 2024.
In a defiant speech on Saturday, referring to Iran and its allied militias, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: ‘No one will stop us, not The Hague, not the axis of evil and not anyone else.’
He was speaking after the International Court of Justice at The Hague held two days of hearings on South Africa’s allegations that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians, a charge Israel has rejected as libelous and hypocritical.
South Africa asked the court to order Israel to halt its blistering air and ground offensive in an interim step.
Gaza’s Hamas government media office said on Sunday that ‘more than 100 people were martyred in the attacks last night until 6.00 am in all areas of the Gaza Strip’.
On the Israel-Lebanon border, which has seen regular exchanges of fire with Hamas ally Hezbollah, the Israeli army said it killed three gunmen who had crossed the frontier overnight and ‘fired at the forces’.
On Sunday, two civilians were killed in northern Israel after an anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon hit their home in a town near the border.