Three Brits confirmed dead in Israel & at least 7 missing after Hamas terrorists storm festival & take innocents hostage | The Sun

THREE Brits have been confirmed dead in Israel and seven are missing after Hamas terrorists unleashed a bloodbath dubbed "Israel’s 9/11".

More than 1,200 people in Israel and Gaza have been killed since the Palestinian militant group stormed across the border on Saturday and massacred hundreds at a music festival.




Scot Bernard Cowan, 57, was murdered by the terrorist groups during the horror attacks.

And Corporal Nathanel Young, 20, who was serving in the Israeli Defence Forces, was confirmed dead on Saturday.

Daniel Darlington, a UK photographer, was also killed while visiting the country.

Bernard, who grew up near Glasgow before moving out to the Middle East, is understood to have been caught up in the atrocities.

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His brother Colin shared the news on Facebook today, stating the family "are all devastated".

Daniel's sister wrote on Instagram that he was "murdered by terrorists".

The other Brits reported as missing were mostly said to have been at a music festival in southern Israel, where horrified rescuers found 260 bodies after Hamas terrorists cut the power and opened fire.

UK government sources previously said more than 10 British citizens were feared dead or missing after the weekend attacks, the BBC reported.

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Shocking footage showed terrified ravers fleeing the site – with many still missing.

Brit Dan Darlington and his German girlfriend, Carolin Bohl, haven't been heard from since they fled to a bunker as Hamas militants gunned down festival-goers.

The photographer and his girlfriend were pictured laughing in a post on Instagram just three days before they disappeared during the brutal attack.

Carolin's brother-in-law Sam Pasquesi said their family learned that two bodies had been identified.

Her sister said they heard about the couple's death from their friend "on the ground" in Israel.

"Today we learned from Carolin's friend on the ground in Kibbutz Nir Oz in Israel that she and her friend Danny were killed in a terrorist attack yesterday," she said.

"We are broken and are working to cope with this unimaginable tragedy."

She thanked those who tried to find the pair and requested "time and space" to remember their "sweet angel Caro and her beloved friend Danny".

Carolin's brother-in-law Sam said the family does not yet have official notification from the governments of Israel, Germany, or the UK of the pair's death.

But he said: "We have reliable information from the ground in Israel that our beloved Caro and her dear friend Danny were killed in a terrorist Hamas raid."

Dan's dad David, told the BBC that his son had been travelling with a German woman and his half-sister had last had contact with him on Saturday morning.

It comes as…

  • More than 1,100 have been confirmed dead in Israel and Gaza and thousands more injured
  • Hamas terrorists launched an all-out attack on Israel from land, air and sea with 5,000 rockets fired
  • Rishi Sunak has called an urgent COBRA meeting to discuss the attacks
  • The Palestinian Ministry of Health said hundreds had died in the violence that followed the surprise Hamas attack on Israel
  • Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that Gaza will be "reduced to rubble"
  • Reports emerged of kidnapped Israeli soldiers being paraded on military vehicles
  • One-eyed Hamas terror boss Mohammed Deif masterminded the deadly assault on Israel
  • British citizen Jake Marlowe has been reported missing after attending a music festival in southern Israel
  • Netanyahu mobilised the country’s army reserves following his declaration of war
  • Airlines have halted flights to Tel Aviv as the violence rages on
  • The attack has been dubbed "Israel's 9/11" after an "embarrassing intelligence failure"

"The communications network is down and we haven't spoken to him for 24 hours," he said.

Brit security guard Jake, 26, was working at the festival when Hamas launched a devastating rocket attack followed by a ground assault.

Friends of the Arsenal fan said his first instinct would have been to make sure everyone else was safe before he thought of himself.

Lifelong pal Daniel Aboudy, 26, said: “He is tough and heroic but caring and protective as well. He will always do everything he can to help everyone.”

And trainee barrister Lea Sztemberg, 24, added: "His instinct would be to help those around him, not to run."

In total, some 2,300 were injured by the militant group who also kidnapped more than 100 people – including many at the event where Jake was working.

He grew up in Potters Bar, North London, and attended JFS, the North London comprehensive which was once the biggest Jewish school in the world.

After leaving school he worked as a musician, shop manager, and carpenter.

The talented drummer and guitarist played in a number of hardcore metal bands before moving to Israel two years ago to explore his Jewish heritage.

He lives in Ma’a lot, north Israel, and by day works as a carpenter on building sites.

But he also has a second part-time job as a security guard at festivals and gigs.

On Friday night he was working at Nature Festival, a trance music event near Kibbutz Re’im in the western Negev desert which started at 11pm.

The Hamas attack started shortly before dawn on Saturday when the all-night event had been going on for a few hours.

A rocket attack was followed by a pincer ground assault as militants attacked the crowds from either side.

A report later said that one person was killed and dozens injured. But the final casualty figures are expected to be much higher, with many more being abducted and taken to Gaza.

Jake had videoed the rockets flying over on his phone and then called his mother Lisa at her home in London to tell her.

He texted her an hour later to say he was okay and would keep her updated – and signed off: “I love you.”

His family has not heard from him since.

Distraught Lisa, now waiting at home for news with Jake’s dad Michael and sister Natasha, said: “He called me at 4.30am to say all these rockets were flying over.

“Then, at about 5.30am, he texted to say, ‘signal very bad, everything OK, will keep you updated I promise you,’ and that he loves me.

“I don’t know what we’re supposed to be doing. I’ve got people in Israel phoning the home guard command, everyone’s just trying to help as much as they can.

"I’ve left him lots of WhatsApp messages but I’ve not been able to leave him a [voice] message… I can’t bear to listen to the phone just ringing and not being answered.”

Jake had been dating speech therapy student Shira Desta, 24, for six months.

She told The Sun from her home in Israel: “Jake has the biggest heart and is always ready to help everyone and put people before him.

“He’s so gentle and patient. A lot of people care about him and are waiting for an update, we all hope they find him safe and sound.”

Best pal Daniel, who first met Jake in nursery and went all through school with him, added: “The last we have heard is that he was escorting people and trying to get people away.

“He was doing everything he could in that situation to help out.

“There is lots of footage online of people and we have been scouring that to see if we can recognise him but we haven’t been able to.

“Jake is a massive Arsenal fan, he has loved Arsenal all his life, and he has huge fascination for music.

“He is a funny, confident, stronghearted and always put others before himself."

Another friend Lea, training to be a barrister in Paris, revealed that Jake counts Muslims and Christians among his friends and was desperate for peace in the Middle East.

She said: “He really wants peace. He is tolerant towards other religions.

“He wants a peaceful world where everyone could live together.

“When this happened, Jake’s first instinct would be not be to run away to save his own life.

“His instinct would but to think of others and to help others. He is extremely protective.”

Heartbroken relatives paid tribute to Nathanel – who was killed while serving with the IDF near the Gaza border.

His family said on Facebook: “We’re heartbroken to share that our little brother was tragically killed on the Gaza Border yesterday.”

A former pupil at JFS – the same school that Jake attended – he had been living in Tel Aviv and was a member of the army’s 13th Battalion.

His sister Gaby Shalev said: “Nathanel was full of life and the life of the party – he carried the nickname DJ on base.

“He loved his family and friends and was loved by everyone. He loved music and was a talented DJ.

"Always willing to go to any lengths for his loved ones. An amazing uncle and brother. He was so happy in Israel.”

His brother Eliot added: “Nathanel always had strong Jewish pride. From a young age he has always wanted to play an important role in defending his country, it’s something he talked about a lot.

“I remember when he was around 10 and he called, so upset at the attacks on Israel that were happening at that time.

“Nathanel was also a bubbly guy who my two little daughters loved playing with and were always so excited to visit.

"When Nathanel could have taken his days off to sleep and re-energise, he instead found out where we were, which wasn’t always so close to him, and came to join us.”

Among the missing from the music festival are also Dor Shafir and his girlfriend Savion Kiper – who haven’t been heard from since Saturday.

Dor’s Brit-born mum Miryam Shafir is still waiting for news on her son after he and his girlfriend fled from the festival in terror.

Miryam's cousin, Irish national Rob Simmons, told The Sun from Tel Aviv: “We got a call from his girlfriend just before 7am on Saturday saying they were running for shelter.

"The fear is that it's possible he's one of these hundred plus that were taken to Gaza.”

Simmons said Israeli police found out Dor’s phone was “manually shut off around 1:30pm on Saturday”, athough its location is unknown.

His girlfriend Savion’s phone was tracked within a 3 to 6 mile radius near the town of Re’im – an Israeli town only 3 miles from the Gaza border, and nearby where the festival was held.

Shocking footage showed hundreds of terrified Israelis fleeing for their lives as gunmen fired indiscriminately into the crowds at the festival in Israel near the Gaza border.

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Israeli rescue service Zaka said at least 260 bodies were recovered from the site – although the death toll is expected to rise as teams continue to work in the area.

The government has no plans to evacuate British citizens from Israel. There are 50-60,000 British nationals in Israel or Gaza. Anyone in need of support advised to contact the Foreign Office.








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