6:20 pm ET, November 17, 2023
More than 360 people are now believed to have been killed at the October 7 music festival, according to Israeli media
From CNN’s Andrew Carey in Tel Aviv
Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images
Israeli police believe at least 364 people were killed in the attack by Hamas gunmen Noah Music Festival in Southern Israel According to Israeli media on October 7th.
Earlier, 270 officers were killed.
Israel’s Channel 12 news said it had obtained a copy of the first police report on the attack and presented some of the report’s findings on its main newscast Friday evening. It did not show a copy of the report.
Seventeen of the dead were police officers, Israel’s Channel 12 news reported, citing a police report. The news agency said 40 festival-goers were abducted and taken into Gaza.
The music festival was the site of a large number of deaths on October 7, but police say interrogations of captured militants believe Hamas was unaware of the music festival when it launched its attack.
According to Channel 12 News, the report said the first alarm was received at 6:22 a.m., but it’s clear the first responders had no idea what was going on. Initial word of the attack said dozens of terrorists from Gaza had crossed the perimeter fence – the actual number is believed to be more than a thousand.
More than nine hours after the shooting began, Israeli security forces finally locked down the ceremony site at 3:30 p.m., the report said, according to Israeli media.
It’s unclear whether the updated number of people killed at the festival affects the total death toll, which officials put at around 1,200.
