An Israeli woman who was at the site of one of the first attacks by Hamas last month has recounted how she was forced to hide under a pile of dead bodies, including her boyfriend’s, for hours to avoid being killed. A witness filmed the horrific scene, and it has been released online. The attackers were firing indiscriminately at the crowd of around 250 people at the time, and a number were killed. The survivors have not been able to recover from the terrifying experience.
The witness, named Noam Mazal Ben-David, 27, was at the festival with her partner, David Neman, when the terrorists attacked. She was shot in her leg and hip and feared the ruthless gunmen would return for her after they had killed so many others. To escape, she said she lay down in a skip, hiding amongst the blood-soaked corpses.
She told Express.co.uk: ‘They surrounded us, and they started shooting non-stop; a lot of bullets came flying over our heads.’ Noam said she kept her eyes closed and her body still, tricking the armed men into thinking she was dead. She was one of just four survivors out of 16 who sought refuge in the skip bin.
Despite losing a lot of blood, she was afraid to make any noise, fearing the terrorists may return for her. She hid under the dead body of her boyfriend for about two hours, unable to move as she waited for help. ‘I felt like a zombie,’ she said, adding that she was in constant pain from her wounds. ‘I was trying to stay calm and not cry so that I wouldn’t wake up the other victims.’
Noam said she was rescued after a few hours, and a medic treated her injuries. She was then able to contact her family, who were able to confirm that she had survived the horror attack.
Another video, which was also released on social media and verified by the AP, shows a woman named Noa Argamani being dragged away by a group of armed Hamas militants. One of the armed men rifles through her pockets and takes something off of her body.
A bone fragment found in the skull of a victim of the Gaza raids was tested and confirmed to belong to 23-year-old Shani Louk, a dual German-Israeli national who died during the assault. The Israeli authorities are yet to decide how she was killed or whether Hamas executed her.
The Israeli model’s story of survival is just one of countless horrors to be revealed as part of the ongoing investigation into the Gaza massacre. Hundreds of innocent civilians have been killed, and Hamas attacks on Israel have wounded thousands more. A massive humanitarian crisis is raging across the region, and the international community is urging both sides to resume peace talks as soon as possible.
