IDF to present investigation into massacre at Nova music festival next week
Separate presentations to be held for the families of the murdered, the hostages, and the survivors of Hamas’s October 7 onslaught at party near Re’im
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Starting next week, the Israel Defense Forces will begin presenting its investigation into the massacre at the Nova music festival near the Gaza border community of Re’im during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught to the families of those murdered, taken hostage, and those who survived the attack, the military announced on Wednesday.
Hamas terrorists murdered 364 revelers who attended the overnight outdoor party, including many who fled the dancefloor to other areas near the border with Gaza. The terrorists abducted 40 more partygoers to the Strip.
During the October 7 onslaught, some 1,200 people, mainly civilians, were slaughtered, and 251 were kidnapped.
The Nova investigation will be presented by Brig. Gen. (res.) Ido Mizrahi, who led the probe, alongside other officers, the military said.
Several separate presentations will be held between March 30 and April 4, as there are numerous families of those murdered and abducted and many more survivors.
The 344 families of civilians murdered at Nova were to receive a text message on Wednesday to register for one of two presentations at the Tel Aviv Expo venue on April 2. The IDF said there would be two presentations to not limit the number of family members who wish to attend.
Individual presentations of the probe will be held for each of the families of 16 soldiers, many of whom were off duty, who were killed in the attack at the Nova festival. A group presentation will be held for the families of 16 police officers and two Shin Bet agents who were slain.
The IDF will also hold presentations of the investigation to the families of those abducted from the music festival, including those who have since been returned from captivity.
Lastly, a presentation will also be held on April 3 for the survivors of the Nova attack at the Tel Aviv Expo. A registration process will begin soon, according to the military.
The military said the Nova investigation, like all of its other probes into the October 7 onslaught, is aimed at drawing operational conclusions for the IDF.
The Times of Israel has learned that the Nova investigation focuses on the military’s preparations; the process in which the party, which took place near the Gaza border, was approved by authorities; the chain of events during the attack on October 7; and the conduct of troops in the area of the party and the adjacent Re’im parking lot.
The investigation team only looked into the attack at the area of the party, the Re’im parking lot, and a section of the Route 232 highway. It did not look into the murders of partygoers by Hamas terrorists in other areas of southern Israel that day, including at several bomb shelters, as they are being covered in other investigations.
The probe also does not investigate the individual murders of partygoers at the festival, which are being covered by a top-tier police investigation. The IDF investigation team did, however, cooperate with the police’s Lahav 433 major crimes unit to understand the chain of events of the attack at the party.
The Nova festival investigation is one of 41 separate battles and major incidents that took place during the October 7 attack that the IDF has investigated.
So far, the IDF has released investigations into the attacks that took place at Kibbutz Be’eri, Nahal Oz base, Kibbutz Kfar Aza, Kibbutz Nahal Oz, Netiv Haasara, Kibbutz Nir Oz, and Kibbutz Alumim.
