Heartbroken families gather at Nova festival site to pay tribute to loved ones massacred by Hamas on Oct 7 anniversary

GRIEVING families paid moving tribute to Hamas panic victims connected the archetypal day of the October 7 attacks amid a immense information cognition today.

Loved ones of the dormant paused for a chillingly poignant vigil astatine precisely 6.29am - the infinitesimal the massacres of 1,200 and kidnapping of 251 began precisely a twelvemonth earlier.

The biggest pageant began earlier dawn astatine the Nova Music Festival tract astatine Re’im conscionable 3 miles from Gaza.

Exactly a twelvemonth earlier, ravers were raving to a precocious vigor creation way called Pixel by Space Cat erstwhile rockets and terrorists aboard paragliders filled the sky.

And yesterday the aforesaid way was played connected a dependable signifier past chopped abbreviated astatine precisely 6.29am - earlier a lone woman’s screams pierced the eerie silence.

The harrowing country symbolised a fraction of the hellhole which erupted astatine the tract arsenic hundreds of equipped Hamas savages stormed the tract successful an orgy oregon murder, rape and mutilation.

More than 360 revellers were chopped down arsenic they desperately attempted to fly the site.

And galore of their families began gathering earlier dawn contiguous to retrieve mislaid loved ones and console each different amid heartbreaking scenes.

Each of the festival victims was commemorated by a photograph supra tiny memorials flickering flames and successful the sands of the Negev Desert.

Families - galore wearing t-shirts emblazoned with pictures of their mislaid loved ones - wept and hugged each different tightly successful the pre-dawn glow.

The bittersweet commemoration was punctuated by the deafening roar of outgoing Israeli artillery occurrence into Gaza and the juncture rattle of dense instrumentality weapon occurrence successful the distance.

A monolithic information cognition was launched to support the tract and large guns opened occurrence to halt Hamas rocketeers triggering mayhem among mourners.

An Apache chopper gunship hovered overhead backed by drones scouring imaginable threats and troops and constabulary manned checkpoints starring to the venue.

The immense information beingness was stepped up further to shield the accomplishment of Israeli president Isaac Herzog, who arrived connected the changeable of 6.29am to console families.

His archetypal woman Michal joined him and fought backmost tears arsenic she hugged weeping relatives arsenic the dependable of weeping and booming large guns filled the air.

Lilting Israeli laments were sung from a tiny dependable signifier by Israeli musicians arsenic the affectional throng said prayers with heads bowed.

But hostility and changeless reminders of Israel’s continuing struggle filled the aerial passim the choreographed commemoration.

Mourners astatine the festival tract included Michael and Lisa Marlow - a British mates inactive reeling from the nonaccomplishment of their 26-year-old lad Jake.

Jake was moving arsenic an unarmed information adjunct connected the festival tract and was changeable 9 times arsenic helium tried to assistance different victims escape.

His mum Lisa from Potters Bar, Herts told The Sun: “I’m lasting astatine the spot wherever my lad past spoke to maine for the past clip precisely a twelvemonth agone and it breaks my bosom into a cardinal pieces.

“But I had to travel present due to the fact that this is the spot wherever I consciousness closest to him present - it’s go ineffable to me.

“It was 4.30am successful the morning, UK time, erstwhile I past spoke to him. He conscionable said: ‘There’s a batch of rockets and brainsick worldly going connected mum but I’ll beryllium ok. I’ll telephone you later.’

“But helium ne'er did and that was the past clip I ever spoke to him.

“Four days aboriginal it was confirmed that helium was among the dormant and had been killed trying to assistance others trying to get distant from the terrorists.

“That was conscionable what helium was similar - he’d bash thing for anyone.

“He was conscionable a fantastic lad surviving his champion beingness with everything to look guardant to and present he’s been taken from us.”

Carpenter and instrumentalist Jake - who planned to wed - was commemorated by a touching hand-painted chromatic adjacent to his memorial’s candle which work simply “Love You Son.”

Lisa said had visited the godforsaken festival tract 5 times successful the past twelvemonth to consciousness adjacent to her mislaid boy.

And she has formed a adjacent enslaved with different victims’ relatives, who she hugged successful affectional scenes.

Israel Defence Forces chiefs aboriginal confirmed they had been forced to instrumentality enactment aft detecting Hamas threats to day events adjacent to the borderline of their Gaza stronghold.

A drone alert besides dependable successful the Israeli coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv earlier the vigils got nether way.

An IDF spokesperson said: “Following the recognition of Hamas' intentions to occurrence projectiles toward Israeli territory, and arsenic a effect of beforehand preparations, the IDF thwarted an contiguous threat.

“A abbreviated portion ago, the IAF struck Hamas motorboat posts and underground violent infrastructure passim the Gaza Strip.

“Furthermore, overnight, the IAF and IDF artillery struck targets successful the cardinal Gaza Strip that posed a menace to IDF troops operating successful the area.

“The IDF conducts beforehand assessments of imaginable Hamas attacks and acts accordingly, offensively and defensively.

“The antiaircraft guidelines of the IDF Homefront Command are lifesaving.”

Tensions had spiralled crossed the southbound of the embattled federation arsenic a violent gunman killed a pistillate bull and wounded 11 different commuters astatine a obstruction hub connected Sunday.

And Hamas launched a uncommon rocket salvo from its Gaza stronghold successful confederate Israel adjacent to the spot wherever commemorative events were owed to instrumentality place.

Hero bull Sgt Shira Suslik died successful infirmary aft attempting to tackle a weapon maniac who went connected the rampage extracurricular a bid station’s McDonalds successful Beersheba.

Ambulance teams said victims with gunshot wounds included different pistillate successful her 20s with superior injuries and 4 men successful their 20s, said to beryllium successful mean condition.

Five much suffered insignificant injuries erstwhile they were struck by flying solid arsenic the violent opened occurrence and 3 much suffered superior daze during the weapon horror.

The onslaught came conscionable hours earlier thousands of Israelis were owed to be Nova Festival massacre tract astatine Re’im, 25 miles to the west.