Israeli soldier who threw a grenade at a mosque in Palestinian West Bank has been suspended, IDF claims, as authorities up death toll of Hamas attack on Nova music festival to 364
- Footage shows the soldier walking to the mosque and throwing the grenade
An Israeli soldier who threw a grenade at a mosque in the Palestinian West Bank has been suspended, according to the Israeli army.
The soldier was seen on social media footage as he approached the building in the village of Budrus.
The video shows him walking to the mosque at night, throwing the grenade at the door and walking away – as the call to prayer echoes in the background.
An explosion is then heard and the singing suddenly stops as the video stops.
In a statement posted Friday evening, the IDF said it was taking the incident “extremely seriously,” adding that the soldier had been “suspended pending a full investigation.”
They said “appropriate disciplinary action will be taken” against the soldier.
Israeli police investigators last night also raised the death toll from the Nova music festival to 364 – after previously saying that 270 people were killed at the event in the Negev desert.
The new figure means that a quarter of the victims of the Hamas massacre died during the event. Police say they are confident that Hamas knew nothing about the festival.
Footage shows an Israeli soldier walking towards a mosque in the Palestinian West Bank before throwing a grenade at the building
An explosion is then heard and the prayer chant suddenly stops as the video stops
Israeli police investigators raised the death toll from the Nova music festival last night to 364 – after previously saying 270 people had been killed at the event. Pictured: the devastating remains of the festival
The October 7 Hamas attacks took more than 230 hostages and killed at least 1,200 people.
Survivors have told how they fled the carnage as terrorists torched cars, shot others and ferried hostages into Gaza on motorcycles and pickup trucks.
Dozens of cars were abandoned after terrorists stormed the festival, near the Gaza Strip, as part of last month’s surprise attack.
Several vehicles burned out, while many cars were missing entire windows.
Tents, including those used for events at the festival, were also abandoned by both organizers and festival goers.
Ghostly images revealed the eerie silence that descended on the site of the Nova festival – where 364 people are said to have died.
The Nova music festival venue was abandoned by festival goers when Hamas fighters stormed the area
During the October 7 attacks, several cars were burned and rusted by Hamas fighters
IDF soldiers patrolled the area around the festival site last month
Tents, including those used for events at the festival, were abandoned by organizers and festival goers
The land around the festival site appeared to have been set on fire by Hamas terrorists
Joshua Loitu Mollel and Clemence Felix Mtenga from Tanzania were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists
Festival goers knew there was a risk of rocket attacks. But they did not expect that a truck full of armed men would cut the power to the festival and storm the site, shooting indiscriminately into the crowd.
On Saturday, a march by families of the hostages who left Tel Aviv on Tuesday will end with a rally in Jerusalem.
The Tanzanian government also announced that a citizen of the country, who was taken hostage last month, has died.
Clemence Felix Mtenga, 22, was taken during a raid by Hamas terrorists on the Nahal Oz kibbutz, although it was not immediately clear where he died or how this was confirmed.
The statement from the Tanzanian Foreign Ministry said it was in contact with Israeli authorities regarding the fate of another national named Joshua Mollel.
Officials in Israel said both men were in the country as part of an agricultural internship as a programmer when they were kidnapped and taken to Gaza.