(JNS) The death toll from Hamas’s October 7 attack on the Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im has been raised from 260 to 350, with officials stressing the number could rise as new information surfaces.
The increase was based on data from Israel’s National Insurance Institute, which found that the number of victims who were shot and then burned in their cars while attempting to flee was higher than previously thought.
Another 40 attendees of the all-night rave were taken to Gaza as hostages.
Some 1,200 people were killed during Hamas’s October 7 attack on Jewish communities near the Gaza Strip and thousands more were wounded. Some 240 people were taken captive and are being held hostage in Gaza.
Authorities have identified 870 of the victims, while others still remain unaccounted for.
Archaeologists have been enlisted to help find the remains of massacred Israelis while search teams continue looking for bodies in open areas.
It comes as organisers of the festival vowed during a memorial ceremony that they would not let the tragedy keep them from "dancing again."
“We went through something that we had no control over, we will take care of everyone and help everyone,” said organisers Omri Sassi and Nimrod Arnin during the ceremony. Both lost loved ones during the massacre: Sassi lost four relatives and Arnin his sister.
“The Nova community suffered the largest number of murders. … This was the largest event we have done to date, a lot of people came from abroad to spend time at the event,” Sassi and Arnin told Walla News.
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