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ONE ISRAELI'S HEROIC ESCAPE FROM HAMAS GUNFIRE
TEL AVIV, Israel — It was a Saturday and Israeli national Moshe was smiling and joking while taking a selfie video at the Super Nova Music Festival.
The said festival was being held in an open field near Re'im, Southern Israel, just next to Gaza.
Little did he know that moments later, thousands of rockets would be launched from Gaza toward Israel.
Attendees of the music festival then sprinted amid the sound of continuous gunfire.
According to Moshe, Hamas relentlessly targeted those present at the music festival.
"I said to myself, 'This is not just a rocket. This is a different story.' I told my friend, 'You have to come with me now because if we stay here, we're all going to be dead,'" Moshe shared with GMA Integrated News.
Moshe did not hesitate. He immediately jumped into his parked car and drove in a direction that fortunately was not the one Hamas militants took.
However, he witnessed bullets raining on passing vehicles. Miraculously, he escaped unscathed.
"I was running with the car, and everybody was saying, 'We should go to the field, just like in the video that you talk about.' It was like running without a car," Moshe said.
He added, "Maybe 20 or 25 cars were running with me. Most of the cars were getting hit by gunshots."
GMA journalist JP Soriano interviews Moshe
As the Hamas gunfire continued in the central part of the music festival venue, Moshe spotted some Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers and residents of a nearby kibbutz.
Shortly after, in Moshe's video, tanks from the IDF could be seen engaged in a battle on the other side of the festival venue.
Meanwhile, some vehicles were seen with bullet holes. It was at this point that Moshe noticed a woman with a gunshot wound on her back. He brought her to his car and rushed her to the hospital.
"She had a big hole in her back, from gunshots by the terrorists. I took her like this, and I ran maybe four hundred meters... running inside to the kibbutz side. Thank God she's alive and safe," Moshe recounted.
The Nova Music Festival is now referred to as the Nova Music Festival Massacre by the government and the people of Israel.
It is considered a closed military area by the IDF, as it is believed that Hamas militants may still be hiding in the vicinity.
GMA Integrated News had the exclusive opportunity to visit the festival venue on Thursday, accompanying the Israel Foreign Ministry, IDF, and the Philippine Embassy in Israel.
Because Israeli citizens and their children were abducted by Hamas, IDF members are ready to sacrifice their lives to battle the militants.
Omri, an IDF reservist, shares the same view. He will be going back to deployment soon.
"It's very difficult for all the Israeli people. It's very difficult, and all the Israeli people want peace," he said. "They want someone to come back in peace," adding confidently, "and Israel will win."
Angeline and Angenica Aguirre
The Hamas attacks that Omri mentioned targeted the Israelis living in the kibbutz housing facilities in Southern Israel, right next to Gaza. GMA Integrated News also visited these areas.
Among those killed by Hamas were four Filipinos, including caregiver Angeline Aguirre, who was found dead while caring for an Israeli in Kibbutz Kfar Aza.
Angeline's sister, Angenica, who is also a caregiver in a separate kibbutz in Southern Israel, shared the last message she received from Angeline before Hamas took her life.
"She sent a message to our group chat. She was scared because she could hear the gunfire... I told them that even in our place, I told her to pray that everything would be okay," Angenica said.
But, as it turned out, nothing was okay. Angeline was found dead, along with three other Filipino caregivers who had dedicated their lives to caring for their Israeli employers, miles away from their loved ones in the Philippines.
Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Fleur Hassan Nahoum said Angeline showed "unimaginable honor in the face of evil."
