‘Wrong place at the wrong time’: Inside the kibbutz next to where 250 festivalgoers were murdered
Shortly before 9pm on Tuesday, a Hamas fighter tried to kill an Israeli soldier with a knife.
The attack took place at Kibbutz Re’im in southern Israel, about four kilometres (2.5 miles) from the border with Gaza.
The man was shot dead by another soldier.
What is remarkable is that the would-be assassin had been hiding in the kibbutz since Saturday morning when he and about 50 fighters stormed the community.
Bullets on the ground at Kibbutz Re’im
The defence forces thought they’d cleared the kibbutz but evidently, they were wrong – another search of the entire complex is under way.
This story, told to me by the head of security at the kibbutz, shows what many have been hearing about for days.
The Hamas fighters came over the border with ease and might not have returned to Gaza.
This is important because as Israel considers a ground offensive in Gaza, the government and the military can hardly expect their soldiers to cross the wire if they think the enemy is still behind them.
Over the past few days, Israel has struggled to convincingly take control of the border line.
A burnt-out nursery school in the kibbutz
Only on Tuesday, I saw defence force soldiers firing machine guns at targets inside Israeli territory, while helicopter gunships attacked Hamas positions just a few kilometres inside the Gaza Strip.
The military has now moved into Kibbutz Re’im.
It is adjacent to where the Supernova music festival took place on Saturday – the scene of the murder of over 250 young men and women.
This small community was attacked by about 50 heavily-armed men intent on killing and kidnapping.
Eilan, the security chief at Kibbutz Re’im
Eilan is the head of security here. He is a veteran border guard volunteer who doesn’t want his last name used.
He, along with other community volunteers, led the fight back against Hamas, and he walked me through the remains of the community scarred by an intense fight.
Standing in front of the rubble of two houses and a bomb shelter, he described what they had to do to stop the gunmen firing at them.
A discarded anti-tank weapon
Eilan said the Hamas fighters were in the buildings.
“They came and started shooting from this house, we brought the tank, we launched a missile, it didn’t stop.
“We launched a second one, and it didn’t stop, we launched the third one, and it didn’t stop – it stopped when we came with the tractor and we broke the walls, we destroyed everything, as you can see.”
Eilan said that this was a different type of Hamas tactic, where usually attacks inside Israel are suicide missions. This marked a significant change of strategy.
They intended to go home to Gaza having killed or abducted Israelis.
“This is a nightmare, we never thought this could happen, that they’re coming with so many terrorists,” he told me.
“Now it’s completely different, completely different, they came to murder and to take hostages to the Gaza Strip, and you can see the evil that they took families, they took children.”
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‘They’re going house-to-house looking for traps’
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Less than a kilometre away from this community, the Supernova music festival was in full flow when the attack on the kibbutz began.
The mass murder of so many young people has sent shockwaves through Israel, but Eilan believes the real targets of the attack were the kibbutzim that border Gaza, and not the party itself.
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Israeli city shocked by attack
He thinks it was an opportunistic attack on defenceless youngsters who’d been out all night.
“Not the party, I think it’s not the reason, the party, no, I think it’s by mistake.”
I asked him if he thought they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. “Yes”, he nodded.
The entire community has now been moved away and Eilan says he is unsure how many will ever come back.
Eilan told me that seven people from Kibbutz Re’im were killed, and one was taken hostage.
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He said people here wanted to live in peace with the Palestinians, but after this attack, once considered impossible, everything has changed.
“Our kibbutz and all this region thought about living together with the Palestinians, with the people. I employed them, I gave them jobs, money, a salary, but now I changed my mind,” he explained.
“I don’t want any peace with them, I don’t want to deal with them at all, and if I need to consider my children or the Palestinian children, I would think about my children – never again.”
At least 36 people have been killed after a fire engulfed several buildings at a high-rise residential complex in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong leader John Lee said another 279 people were reported missing. He said 29 people remained in hospital.
About 900 people have been evacuated to temporary shelters after the blaze – Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in years – broke out at the Wang Fuk Court housing complex in the city’s Tai Po district.
Three men have since been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, broadcaster RTHK reported.
Pics: AP
Meanwhile, fire chiefs said the high temperatures were making it challenging for crews to mount rescue operations.
Mr Lee said the fire was “coming under control” shortly after midnight.
The blaze was upgraded to a level 5 alarm, the highest level of severity, as night fell.
Pics: AP
The dead included one firefighter, officials said earlier.
A number of other firefighters were said to have been hurt while trying to tackle the flames as they ripped through the 31-storey towers.
Pic: Reuters
Pic: AP
Records show the Wang Fuk Court site consists of eight blocks, with almost 2,000 apartments housing around 4,800 residents, including many elderly people. It was built in the 1980s and has recently been undergoing a major renovation.
Pic: Reuters
Pic: Reuters
The fire, which broke out at 2.51pm local time, had spread on bamboo scaffolding and construction netting set up around the exterior of the complex.
It was not known how the fire started, but officials said it began on the external scaffolding of one of the buildings before spreading inside and to nearby buildings, likely aided by windy conditions.
Pic: Reuters
Pic: Reuters
Flames and smoke were still pouring out of many windows as night fell.
Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed condolences to the firefighter who died, and extended his sympathies to the families of the victims, according to state broadcaster CCTV. He also urged an “all-out” effort to minimise casualties and losses.
The UK’s foreign secretary described the fire as “truly devastating and deeply depressing”. Yvette Cooper said: “The UK sends heartfelt condolences to all the families affected and to the people of Hong Kong.”
Tai Po is in the northern part of Hong Kong, and close to the border with the mainland Chinese city of Shenzhen.
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Bamboo scaffolding is a common sight in Hong Kong at building construction and renovation projects.
However, the government said earlier this year it would start phasing it out for public projects because of safety concerns.
The blaze is the deadliest fire in Hong Kong since the deaths of 41 people in a commercial building in Kowloon in November 1996.
That fire was later found to have been caused by welding during internal renovations, with a public inquiry yielding sweeping updates to building standards and fire safety regulations in the city’s high-rise offices, shops and homes.
Two military personnel who were shot near the White House in Washington DC have died.
A suspect has been taken into custody and the area secured, police said.
The White House was placed into lockdown, while US President Donald Trump is away in Florida.
Washington DC shooting latest updates
Pics: AP
Mr Trump initially posted on his Truth Social platform to say the two National Guardsmen had been “critically wounded”, adding that the “animal” that shot them “is also severely wounded, but regardless, will pay a very steep price”.
But West Virginia’s governor said both victims were members of his state’s National Guard and had died from their injuries.
Patrick Morrisey added: “These brave West Virginians lost their lives in the service of their country. … Our entire state grieves with their families, their loved ones, and the Guard community. West Virginia will never forget their service or their sacrifice, and we will demand full accountability for this horrific act.”
Pic: AP
Police tape cordoned off the scene, while agents from the US Secret Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on the scene, as National Guard troops stood sentry nearby.
Emergency personnel cordon off an area near where National Guard soldiers were shot. Pics: AP
The Joint DC Task Force confirmed it was responding to an incident in the vicinity of the White House.
The DC Police Department posted on X: “Critical Incident: MPD is on the scene of a shooting at 17th and I Street, NW. Please avoid the area.”
In an update, the force said: “The scene is secured. One suspect is in custody.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “The White House is aware and actively monitoring this tragic situation.
“The president has been briefed.”
Mr Trump was at his resort in Palm Beach ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, while US vice president JD Vance was in Kentucky.
Flights arriving at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport were temporarily halted due to its proximity to the scene of the shooting, the US Federal Aviation Administration said.
Hundreds of National Guard members have been patrolling the nation’s capital after Mr Trump issued an emergency order in August, which federalised the local police force and sent in the guard from eight states and the District of Columbia.
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