Gunfire is heard in the distance and smoke is seen rising nearby.

Even as the threat of an invasion hung heavy over Gaza, the Israeli military on Saturday released a video showing the deadly attack on the Nova music festival in Israel exactly a week ago, in which 260 people were killed and many others were taken hostage.

The video, apparently shot by a Hamas operative, shows him and two other gunmen near a series of portable toilets at the site of the festival in the fields outside Kibbutz Re’im, very close to the Gaza border. 

As gunfire is heard in the distance and smoke, possibly from a rocket attack, rises nearby, the gunman shooting the video takes careful aim at every toilet one after the other, his rifle going rat-tat-tat as he shoots to eliminate any festival goers who may be hiding inside. Going right to left, the gunman fires at least one bullet each at nine toilets. 

Posting the video, the Israel Defense Forces said it shows that Hamas does not care who they kill – they just do.

WATCH Hamas terrorists indiscriminately shoot at bathrooms during the Nova Music Festival.

This just shows you that Hamas does not care who—they just kill. pic.twitter.com/Ve0u9HRLWT

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 13, 2023

The video, coupled with the number of deaths and kidnappings at the music festival and across Israel, makes it difficult to escape the conclusion that Hamas was out to inflict the maximum possible casualties on October 7, when it launched 5,000 rockets as well as a land and sea attack on the country as part of the operation that it called Al-Aqsa Flood. 

Video Wars

Both Israel and Hamas have been releasing a series of videos to buttress their claims about atrocities inflicted by the other side as well as to negate allegations made by each other. 

After putting out videos on civilians describing what they had gone through, including a little girl talking about how she had seen her father and his partner being killed right in front of her eyes, the Israeli Military on Friday released footage of Hamas rocket sites in Gaza being bombed right after projectiles were launched from them.

Hamas has also been releasing statements and videos on the suffering of ordinary Gazans in Israeli bombings in the densely packed strip of land. It also released footage yesterday to counter Israel’s disputed claim of its operatives killing and beheading babies. The video showed one Hamas operative holding a baby while another pushed a pram to pacify a crying infant. 

On The Edge

The Israel Defense Forces said on Saturday that a senior Hamas Commander, who headed the group’s “aerial operations” in Gaza City had been killed. It said Murad Abu Murad was killed in an attack on a Hamas operation centre by Israeli fighter jets.

Israel has also carried out “localised raids” into Gaza after ordering over 1 million Gazans to move south on Friday. Tanks remain massed at the Gaza border and there has been no indication yet that Israel is going to desist from its speculated planned invasion. 

At least 3,700 people have died in the conflict, which entered its eighth day on Sunday.