Survivors of Hamas attack on Nova music festival in southern Israel seek way to heal

(20 Nov 2023)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Caesarea - 19 November 2023
1. Various of clothes, shoes, glasses and other belongings left at the Nova festival site by people fleeing Hamas attackers
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Tal Shimoni, survivor of attack:
"So over there we have clothes that were left in the party when people fled the area from the attack. And these are clothes of people that are survivors, some people who were murdered and we allow and invite all the families of the murdered people and all the friends and our tribe to take it, to take their clothes, to take their stuff, to search here and to see if they find their own stuff. We saw a lot of happy moments here of people finding their belongings and some sentimental objects that they are searching for."
3. Various of paintings
4. Various of workshops
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Tal Shimoni, survivor of attack:
"The workshops, I think they just give you some hope. They give you some place to just be who you are as you are at that moment. And as it says on the beautiful wall, it's allowed to cry and it's necessary."
6. Various of workshop
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Tal Shimoni, survivor of attack:
"A lot of the painting and the sketches mean I think a lot of people is what is the light that will come out of the darkness? In the end we are Nova, the tribe of light. And that's why we have always been here we are always trying to find the light in stuff and we need help to go through this thing and this experience that we have been through. This painful experience, this hard experience. And in order for this tribe to move on me, we need this help. We need this space so us, so we can heal together as a community."
8. Various of painting reading: (English) "Nova, we will dance again"
STORYLINE:
Survivors of the Hamas attack on the Nova music festival in southern Israel are seeking ways to heal as they grapple with the aftermath.
In the weeks since the attack, survivors and family members of those killed have gathered at a centre in Caesarea to take part in workshops that aim to help people deal with their trauma and grief.
"The workshops, I think they just give you some hope," Tal Shimoni, a survivor of the attack, told the Associated Press.
"They give you some place to just be who you are as you are at that moment," she added.
The activities include yoga, ceramics and craft classes that bring the survivors and their families together.
One of Hamas’ first targets in its October 7 attack in Israel was the Nova music festival near Kibbutz Be’eri, only five kilometers (3 miles) from the Gaza Strip.
After surging over the border, Hamas gunmen emptied rounds of live ammunition on revelers at the music festival, including hand grenades and mortar fire.
About 1,200 people have been killed on the Israeli side since the start of the latest Israel-Hamas war, mainly civilians killed during the Oct. 7 attack, in which the group dragged some 240 captives back into Gaza and shattered Israel's sense of security.
The military says 63 Israeli soldiers have been killed, including 12 over the past 24 hours.
More than 11,500 Palestinians have been killed, according to Palestinian health authorities.
A further 2,700 have been reported missing, believed buried under rubble.
AP video by Am Bentov
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