Laura Malo recounts how she escaped and hid from Hamas terrorists during and after the attack on the Tribe of Nova festival
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On Oct. 7, 2023, at around 6:30 in the morning, a barrage of missiles bombarded Israel.
Around the same time, terrorists paraglided into a music festival for peace. Hundreds of attendees stood alongside friends and family members dancing, singing and celebrating life at an outdoor venue decorated with music and neon lights. Within minutes, hundreds of attendees were slaughtered by Hamas, an Iranian-backed terrorist group. Later that morning, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared war against Hamas
"We hear a lot of bombs," said Laura Malo to Fox News Digital. Malo was born in Colombia but presently lives in Israel. She was one of the hundreds of innocent victims of the terrorist attack on the festival, but she, unlike so many others, narrowly escaped with her life.
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Malo and her friend were aware this barrage was much more violent than the typical events of the recurring conflict between Israel and Hamas. They quickly got into her car and sped off in hopes of finding safety. Malo checked her phone for a map of anywhere they could escape to.
"I saw in the phone in the map just one way to someplace, some town," she said. "I see the doors of the kibbutz is open and I saw a soldier. When I saw the soldier, I feel saved, but this is when the soldier take the gun and start shooting us."
Laura Malo, survivor of the Hamas terrorists attacks, hid in a greenhouse for 16 hours with her friend.
She expressed her inability to tell whether the soldier was in an IDF or Hamas uniform but quickly learned he was there to kill her. The soldier shot through her car again and again. Malo jolted her wheel in the opposite direction and drove away from the gunfire.
At some point, Malo was in a car accident, which led her and her friend to flee by foot. They crawled through dirt, grass, hills and valleys and located an abandoned greenhouse. The friends hid in the greenhouse for 16 hours without food and water, terrified for their lives.
"Really, actually, I feel like I’m gonna die," Malo said.
While hiding behind a thin layer of glass, ceaseless gun shots, motorcycles with terrorists aboard, and missiles were feet away from Malo and her friend. Malo decided she needed to call her parents to say goodbye.
"It’s very difficult to be in this position, like, you call your mother and your father to say, like, if you maybe you don’t go to come home," she explained adding that she asked her friends to take care of her parents.
"It’s a miracle that we’re here," Malo said solemnly. "Really, God so, so big that I’m here in life. I can’t believe it."
Festival goers were slaughtered one by one by Hamas terrorists and Malo and her friend could hear the terror outside the greenhouse walls. Malo described terrorists on motorcycles reaching out to any and every civilian they could grab and murdering them in cold blood. Other civilians who weren’t as quick to get away were kidnapped, some taken and held hostage in Gaza, and some killed.
When it was quiet enough to leave, Malo and her friend crawled on the floor, being as silent as possible, to make it back to her car. She needed to charge her phone to reach the police.
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She did reach the police, however, she was met with more despair. The police informed Malo and her friend they were unable to rescue them and that the State of Israel was under terrorist attack. Law enforcement advised Malo to hide, be quiet and avoid being outside. The friends decided to wait until dark to walk four to five hours to safety. But they were fearful, as it was night and they had no weapons to protect themselves.
"Some friends be safe, some friends waiting in other places, some friends no answer, some friends died," Malo said somberly. "I’m here, I’m alive, God saved me and I can’t shut up. I have to talk. And it’s difficult in this moment. It’s what I have to do."
Malo attended the music festival, Tribe of Nova, with several friends. She is a DJ herself and is very passionate about the music she makes. Malo says while she, and many others, will need a long break from festivals and concerts, she will attend them again one day.
Malo continues to fear for her life, running away from and hiding at the sound of sirens and missiles. She continues to be away from her parents, away from her work, away from her home, and she implores Jewish people to unite.
"I think that people that stand with terrorists are terrorists," she said. "I think that people that stand with people that kill people, that kill babies, that kill, that take and rape girls, they make a celebration of all this, it’s disgusting."
Gabriele Regalbuto is an SEO editor at Fox News Digital. Gabriele has a Journalism and Communications degree from West Virginia University. She has worked to produce content for newspapers, magazines, and digital platforms. At Fox, she has assisted in coverage of breaking news events including the 2024 presidential cycle, 2022 midterm elections, Queen Elizabeth II's death, the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
