Organisers of attacked Israeli music festival issue statement: "a scene of unspeakable tragedy"

Organisers of the Israeli music festival Supernova Sukkot Gathering have issued a statement for the first time since a Hamas attack last week left hundreds of attendees dead.

Festival producer Tribe of Nova posted a statement to its Facebook page on Saturday (14 October), calling the attack the "epitome of pure and unbridled evil" and conveying their "sincere and heartfelt condolences to all the families, friends, partners and couples who have lost their loved ones or have been affected by the tragic events that unfolded."

A psychedelic trance festival primarily for young people, Supernova was targeted by Hamas as part of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, who launched their attack in the early hours of Saturday morning, shooting into the crowd and taking hostages. Over 260 bodies have since been recovered at the site with that number expected to grow.

In the days following, the conflict between the countries has escalated, with attacks from both sides resulting in thousands of deaths. Statements on the attacks were issued from prominent political figures worldwide, including President Michael D. Higgins and US Senator Bernie Sanders.

You can read an excerpt of Tribe of Nova's statement below.

"Our dear tribe of Nova, first and foremost, we want to convey our sincere and heartfelt condolences to all the families, friends, partners and couples who have lost their loved ones or have been affected by the tragic events that unfolded, following that magic night and that turned into an exceedingly heavy morning.

"What was planned to be the happiest and largest electronic music festival of the Nova Tribe has turned into a scene of unspeakable tragedy, an inhumane war crime, an unprecedented violation of the most basic human values.

"This is the epitome of pure and unbridled evil, the horrifying and senseless murder of countless innocent angels, whose only ‘crime’ was being Jewish and living in Israel.

"It’s no wonder that these agents of darkness targets this joyous gathering of children of light, for their sole and singular purpose is to bring darkness upon the world. But we won’t let them do that!

"We will keep fighting until we reach our objective adorned on our tribe’s flag: to spread light throughout the world, with the help of the holy people of Israel and the Nova Tribe."