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The Israel Defense Forces mistakenly attacked attendees at the Nova festival when they were targeting Hamas militants, Haaretz reported.
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A police source told the outlet that the helicopter’s fire may not have hit its target.
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Israeli officials responded to the report after it was published.
An Israeli police investigation into the Oct. 7 music festival massacre indicates the IDF mistakenly shot some festival-goers while firing at Hamas, a report suggested.
The alleged disaster was reported by Israeli newspaper Haaretz, citing an anonymous police source.
The source told Haaretz that the police investigation indicates that an IDF helicopter gunship fired on Hamas fighters after arriving at the scene. While targeting the perpetrators, the helicopter also hit some festival-goers, the source said.
Business Insider reached out to Josh Breiner, the Haaretz journalist who published this story, for comments.
After Haaretz published its report, the Israeli police issued a statement contradicting the report. According to The Times of Israel, the IDF’s actions were outside the scope of the investigation the source was talking about.
He also asked that the media only broadcast information originating from government officials.
364 people were killed at the festival, a third of the deaths caused by Hamas militants’ coordinated terror attacks against Israel on Oct. 7, according to The Times of Israel.
The Israeli security assessment is that Hamas had no advance knowledge of the Nova music festival next to Kibbutz Re’im and attacked it spontaneously after infiltrating the Gaza border, Haaretz reported.
The festival was initially scheduled to end on Friday evening and was only extended until Saturday, at the end of the day, it was reported.
About 3,500 people attended the psychedelic trance festival three miles from the Gaza border, according to The New York Times.
In addition to the fatalities, dozens of festival-goers were abducted and taken to Gaza. A video of 25-year-old Noa Argamani being forced onto a motorbike by militants while calling her boyfriend went viral on social media.
November 20, 2023: This story was updated to include a statement from the Israel Police.
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