Nova festival survivors sue Israel for military negligence

The survivors of the Supernova music festival, which was held near the Gaza border on October 7 when the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas launched Operation Al-Aqsa Storm into the Occupied Territories, have filed a lawsuit against the Israeli regime, blaming it for its failure to protect them during the attack.

Nearly 42 survivors of the music festival are seeking NIS 200 million ($55 million) in damages, holding Israeli military, police, and the regime’s Shin Bet spy service accountable for the tragic events of the festival and their failure to adequately protect the event, Israeli media reported on Monday.

The lawsuit further blamed the Israeli military for failing to notify festival organizers when signs of a possible Hamas attack emerged late the night before, stressing that the event could have been evacuated before the Hamas operation.

"All the defendants had to do was make a phone call to the responsible parties on their behalf in order for them to disperse the party in view of the notifications received on the night between 06/10/23 - 07/10/23,” the victim’s lawyers said.

"The disaster could have been avoided at so many points in time," representatives for the survivors said.

Hamas launched Operation Al-Aqsa Storm on October 7 in response to Israel’s violations at  Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East al-Quds and growing settler violence against Palestinians.

The raid shattered the occupying entity’s invincibility myth, leaving 1,200 Israelis dead, including 360 participants at the music festival.

In response, Tel Aviv launched a genocidal war on the besieged Gaza Strip that has so far massacred at least 22,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured around 57,000 others.

Following the attack, the Israeli border police and Air Force responded, causing a large battle to erupt on Route 232 highway, adjacent to the festival site.

The Israeli helicopters assassinated Hamas fighters as well as some Israeli concert goers with airstrikes.

Israeli officials have not acknowledged the role the border police played, and instead suggest Hamas has killed all the 364 victims.

The lawsuit on behalf of the festival’s victims also does not appear to address the issue of Israeli fire killing many of the attendees. 

ME