JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel on Monday released security camera footage dated October 7 showing Hamas gunmen who crossed into Israel chasing people from an outdoor music festival, with one of them seen executing a woman at close range.
Israel is seeking to ward off international criticism for its response to the Hamas attack that led to a devastating war in Gaza. Despite growing calls for a ceasefire, Israel said it would continue its campaign until Hamas was eliminated.
“This is a war between good and evil,” said a post shared on social media along with the video by an account linked to the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
The video shows people fleeing from Hamas gunmen while trying to escape from a festival near the border on October 7 that turned into a massacre.
At the end of the video, in the background, one of the pursued women is crouching on the ground, with a gunman next to her. Moments later, the gunman raised his gun and shot the fallen woman at close range.
The video had no sound, but a cloud of dust rose from the ground when he pulled the trigger.
The woman was not identified by name.
Reuters verified the location of the footage, near Kibbutz Alumim, with the layout of the road, trees and a nearby building matching satellite images of the area.
Pressure is mounting on Israel to agree to a ceasefire in Gaza, where the Hamas-run government says at least 13,300 people have been killed, including at least 5,600 children.
Israeli officials say they are determined to remain focused on Hamas’s killing of about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and the capture of 240 others during the bloodiest day in Israel’s 75-year history.
There has been strong support and sympathy for Israel from Western governments and many citizens over the Hamas attacks, but the Israeli response has also sparked anger.
Reporting by Ari Rabinowitz, editing by Rosalba O’Brien
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