IDF combat helicopter targeting Hamas fighters at Nova festival massacre shot some partygoers by mistake, says Haaretz
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An Israeli police investigation into the music-festival massacre on October 7 indicates that the IDF mistakenly shot some festival attendees while firing at Hamas, a report suggested.
The alleged debacle was reported by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, citing an unnamed police source.
The source told Haaretz that their police investigation said an IDF combat helicopter fired at Hamas fighters after arriving on the scene. While targeting the perpetrators, the helicopter also hit some festivalgoers, the source said.
Business Insider reached out to Josh Breiner, the Haaretz journalist who broke this story, for comment.
After Haaretz published its report, Israel Police released a statement pushing back. It said, per The Times of Israe l, that the actions of the IDF were beyond the remit of the investigation the source was speaking about.
It also asked that media outlets only report information from government officials.
Israeli security's assessment is that Hamas did not have advance knowledge of the Nova music festival next to Kibbutz Re'im , and targeted it spontaneously after infiltrating Gaza's border, Haaretz reported.
The festival was initially billed to end on Friday night and only extended to Saturday, late in the day, it said.
Approximately 3,500 people attended the psychedelic trance festival three miles away from the Gaza border, per The New York Times.
Alongside the fatalities, dozens of festival attendees were kidnapped and taken to Gaza. A video of 25-year-old Noa Argamani being hoisted onto a motorcycle by militants while calling for her boyfriend went viral on social media.
November 20, 2023: This story was updated to include a statement by Israel Police.
