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A British man is missing after Hamas attacked a music festival in Israel, the country’s embassy in the UK has told Sky News.

Jake Marlowe, 26, has not been heard from since Saturday morning, the embassy said.

It said he was “missing near Gaza” after the attack on the festival in southern Israel.

Read more: Women and children among hostages, says Israel – follow live

Jake Marlowe's friends issued an appeal for help finding him: Pic: Facebook
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Jake Marlowe’s friends issued an appeal for help finding him: Pic: Facebook

It is understood that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is in contact with and assisting the families of several people in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Mr Marlowe’s mother told the Jewish News her son was working as part of the security team at the dance festival near Re’im – a village close to the Gaza border.

“He was doing security at this rave and called me at 4.30am to say all these rockets were flying over,” she said.

“Then, at about 5.30am, he texted to say, ‘signal very bad, everything OK, will keep you updated I promise you,’ and that he loves me.”

Israeli soldiers drive military jeeps as they search the area following what the Israeli army said was a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip landing in an open area, near Re'im in southern Israel, October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
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Israeli soldiers search the area around Re’im, near where the festival took place


She said her son lived in Ma’alot, in northern Israel, having moved to the country permanently two years ago.

Other people at the festival told Israeli media how the music was interrupted by air raid sirens, before Hamas militants opened fire.

“The music stopped and there was a rocket siren,” a woman told Israel’s N12 News.

“Suddenly, out of nowhere, they started shooting.”

Read more:
Israel PM warns people to leave Gaza as he vows revenge
London police step up patrols after attack ‘celebrations’
What next for Israel and Palestine?

Another party-goer, Esther Borochov, said a car rammed her vehicle as she tried to escape.

She said she played dead until Israeli soldiers arrived: “I couldn’t move my legs,” she told Reuters news agency.

“Soldiers came and took us away to the bushes.”

Meanwhile, German media reported that German citizen Shani Louk is among those missing.

The fate of the young woman, who is reported to have been kidnapped by Hamas militants, has not been confirmed.

The woman’s mother has appealed for any information about her daughter’s whereabouts in a video posted on social media.

The mother said she could “clearly recognise” her daughter in a video being widely circulated online.

In an interview with German newspaper Bild, relatives in Germany said they hoped Ms Louk is alive and will be released.

It also emerged on Sunday that a British man serving in the Israeli army had been killed in an attack by Hamas militants.

Nathanel Young, 20, died on Saturday, the Israel Defence Forces said
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Nathanel Young, 20, died on Saturday, the Israel Defence Forces said

Corporal Nathanel Young, 20, from London, was a soldier in the 13th Battalion, according to the Israeli Defence Forces.

He was living in a home for lone IDF soldiers in Raanana, north of Tel Aviv, according to the Jewish News.

His family said on Facebook they were “heartbroken” and that he had been killed “on the Gaza Border yesterday [Saturday].”

Soldiers and civilians kidnapped

The Israeli embassy to the US said women and children were among more than 100 soldiers and civilians kidnapped by Hamas fighters and that active hostage situations were “ongoing”.

Tzipi Hotovely, Israel’s ambassador to the UK, told Sky News on Sunday that her country was “doing everything to make sure all the people being kept hostage at the moment in the hands of Hamas will be released”.

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‘We woke up to a nightmare’

Ms Hotovely said Israel had woken to a “nightmare” after Hamas launched its surprise attack on Saturday.

She said 300 Israelis were “brutally, barbarically murdered in cold blood” by people who planned the most “calculated way” to invade.

Children were taken from their homes to Gaza, while people with dementia were “taken hostage”, she added.

On Sunday afternoon, Israeli media reported that 500-600 of the country’s citizens had died.

Meanwhile, an Israeli military official said “hundreds” of Hamas militants had been killed and dozens captured in retaliatory attacks.

The Palestinian health ministry said on Sunday afternoon that at least 370 people had been killed in Gaza and about 2,200 wounded.

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Hero who tackled and disarmed Bondi Beach gunman is Sydney fruit shop owner

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Hero who tackled and disarmed Bondi Beach gunman is Sydney fruit shop owner

A bystander hailed a hero after he tackled and disarmed one of the gunmen in the Bondi Beach shooting is a shop owner.

The man, named by a relative as 43-year-old Ahmed al Ahmed, was seen in a video running up to the attacker from behind and then grabbing the shotgun from his hands before pointing the weapon back at him.

The footage then showed the terrorist heading towards a bridge where another gunman was located, while the bystander placed the gun beside a tree.

Ahmed al Ahmed (in a white T-shirt) is seen in a video running up to a gunman from behind
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Ahmed al Ahmed (in a white T-shirt) is seen in a video running up to a gunman from behind

Mr Ahmed then wrestles with the attacker
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Mr Ahmed then wrestles with the attacker

Live updates on Sydney shooting

Mr Ahmed, who was wearing a white T-shirt, was shot twice in the incident and was due to have surgery, his cousin, Mustafa, has revealed.

In a video on 7News, Mr Ahmed appeared to have a bloodied arm and hand, and was helped by other people near the scene in the Australian city.

At least 11 people were killed and 29 others injured in the attack when two gunmen opened fire from a bridge on crowds at a Jewish event around 6pm local time on Sunday evening.

More than 1,000 people had been at the gathering which was celebrating the festival of Hanukkah.

Mr Ahmed manages to get the gun off the terrorist
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Mr Ahmed manages to get the gun off the terrorist

The bystander then points the weapon at the attacker who moves away towards a bridge
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The bystander then points the weapon at the attacker who moves away towards a bridge

A gunman was killed and another was in a critical condition following the shooting.

One of the suspects was 24-year-old Naveed Akram.

His driver’s licence says he lives in Bonnyrigg, a suburb of Sydney. The identity of the other suspected attacker is not known.

Naveed Akram, 24, was one of the suspects
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Naveed Akram, 24, was one of the suspects

Mustafa said father-of-two Mr Ahmed, who owns a fruit shop in the Sydney suburb of Sutherland, did not have any experience with guns but was just walking past when he decided to step in.

He told 7News: “He’s in hospital and we don’t know exactly what’s going on inside.

“We do hope he will be fine. He’s a hero, 100%.”

Read more:
What we know about mass shooting

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One of the suspected gunmen has been named as 24-year-old Naveed Akram.

The footage of the bystander’s actions spread quickly on social media as people praised the man for his bravery, saying his actions had potentially saved many lives.

“Australian hero (random civilian) wrestles gun off attacker and disarms him. Some people are brave and then some people are… whatever this is,” one person said on X, sharing the video.

“This Australian man saved countless lives by stripping the gun off one of the terrorists at Bondi beach. HERO,” another said.

Chris Minns, the premier of New South Wales state, where Sydney is located, said it was the “most unbelievable scene I’ve ever seen”.

“A man walking up to a gunman who had fired on the community and single-handedly disarming him, putting his own life at risk to save the lives of countless other people.”

“That man is a genuine hero, and I’ve got no doubt that there are many, many people alive tonight as a result of his bravery,” he added.

The country’s prime minister Anthony Albanese praised the actions of Australians who had “run towards danger in order to help others”.

“These Australians are heroes and their bravery has saved lives,” he told a news conference.

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Photographer ‘locked eyes’ with gunman, as witness describes Bondi ‘warzone’

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Photographer 'locked eyes' with gunman, as witness describes Bondi 'warzone'

Messages were sweeping across Sydney within minutes of the attack at Bondi Beach.

Parents messaged their children and teenagers, who had been enjoying a late afternoon swim at Bondi.

Witnesses said police were on the scene quickly, and the streets of Sydney’s eastern suburbs were full of police cars and ambulances on their way to Bondi.

Follow live: 11 people killed at event celebrating Hanukkah

When we arrived, there were still dozens of people processing what had happened, and everywhere – shock.

Witnesses told us that when the gunfire started some people took cover in the North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club. Once the threat was over, lifeguards helped the injured and used surfboards to carry them out.

Witnesses tell Sky's Nicole Johnston of Bondi 'warzone'
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Witnesses tell Sky’s Nicole Johnston of Bondi ‘warzone’

Some people were clearly traumatised and provided graphic detail of witnessing the shooting and seeing people killed in front of them.

More on Bondi Beach Shooting

A photographer, Danny, was covering the Jewish holiday event.

Read more: What we know so far

He said he “locked eyes” with one of the gunmen, who then fired towards him. Danny said he was grazed by a bullet. He kept filming during the shooting, while taking cover.

Sam, from France, was working at Bondi. He went to the scene of the attack and saw almost a dozen people lying on the ground covered in blood. Sam described it as like a “war zone”.

Rabbi Lei Wolff, from Central Synagogue in Sydney, went to Bondi as soon as he heard about the mass shooting. A dear friend of his, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, was killed in the attack.

Rabbi Wolff has called on people around the world to stand with Australia’s Jewish community against terrorism.

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Israel says Hamas commander – who was one of the architects of the 7 October 2023 attacks – killed in strike

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Israel says Hamas commander - who was one of the architects of the 7 October 2023 attacks - killed in strike

A senior Hamas commander who was one of the architects of the 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel has been killed in a strike on Gaza City, according to the country’s military.

Raed Saad was targeted in response to an attack by Hamas in which an explosive device injured two soldiers on Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement.

It is the highest-profile killing of a senior Hamas figure since the Gaza ceasefire came into effect in October.

Gaza health authorities said the attack on a car in Gaza City killed five people and wounded at least 25 others, but there has been no confirmation from Hamas or medics that Saed was among the dead.

Raed Saed
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Raed Saed

Hamas condemned the attack in a statement as a violation of the ceasefire agreement but stopped short of threatening retaliation.

An Israeli military official described Saed as a high-ranked Hamas member who helped establish and advance the group’s weapons production network.

“In recent months, he operated to re-establish Hamas’ capabilities and weapons manufacturing, a blatant violation of the ceasefire,” the official said.

More on Israel-hamas War

The 10 October ceasefire has enabled hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to Gaza City’s ruins after a war that began after Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and seized 251 hostages in an attack on southern Israel.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 70,700 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to health officials in Gaza.

Israel has pulled troops back from city positions, and aid flows have increased, but violence has not completely stopped.

Palestinian health authorities say Israeli forces have killed at least 386 people in strikes in Gaza since the truce, while Israel says three of its soldiers have been killed.

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