On October 7th, 2023, a day meant to celebrate life and music at the Nova music festival in Israel turned into a bloodbath, leaving the world shocked and devastated. What unfolded was a massacre, where Hamas terrorists brutally murdered innocent civilians in an attack that defied all bounds of humanity. In the wake of this tragedy, disturbing revelations have emerged that the terrorists were high on cocaine, which may have driven them to commit these heinous acts with such chilling ferocity.
Lt. Col. Eran Masas, an Israeli army veteran and father of four, played a pivotal role in both confronting the attackers and coordinating rescue operations amidst the chaos. Masas, who had been discharged from the military in 2020, was not on active duty when the attack occurred. However, when he saw images of a Hamas pickup truck terrorizing the streets of Sderot, he felt an overwhelming urge to act.
Masas, driven by a sense of duty and an “insane desire” to stop the carnage, donned his uniform, armed himself, and drove 200 kilometers to the heart of the conflict. Along the way, he encountered scenes of horror that he had never anticipated. He found a police car riddled with bullets, the officers inside lifeless, and their killer—a Hamas terrorist—waiting in a pickup truck rigged with explosives.
In a quick, deadly confrontation, Masas outdrew the terrorist, killing him with five shots from his sidearm. What he discovered next was even more horrifying. Inside the terrorist’s vehicle, he found a stash of cocaine—a discovery that would shed light on the disturbing behavior of the attackers.
Masas’ discovery provided a chilling explanation for the “demonic” behavior exhibited by the Hamas terrorists during the massacre. The use of cocaine, a powerful stimulant, could explain the inhuman ferocity with which the attackers carried out their mission. Cocaine is known to cause heightened aggression, paranoia, and a reduced capacity for empathy—all traits that could turn a violent attack into an unimaginable bloodbath.
This revelation also underscores the calculated cruelty of Hamas, which not only planned and executed the attack but did so with a level of barbarity that was likely exacerbated by the influence of drugs. The terrorists were not only armed with weapons but were also chemically primed to commit acts of extreme violence.
Despite the overwhelming terror, Masas exhibited extraordinary courage. As he made his way to Sderot, he encountered hundreds of traumatized survivors from the Supernova rave. These young people were in a state of panic, many of them barely escaping with their lives. Masas, without any formal authority, took it upon himself to reassure and rescue them.
He directed the survivors to safety, even though the resources to evacuate them were nonexistent at the time. Masas lied to calm them, promising buses that did not exist. Miraculously, buses appeared—what Masas later described as divine intervention—allowing him to evacuate the survivors to Beersheba.
But Masas did not stop there. He used an abandoned pickup truck to collect the bodies of the victims, moving them with a mix of sorrow and respect. The image of him apologizing to the dead for the indignity of their situation is a haunting reminder of the humanity that persisted even in the darkest of moments.
Masas recounted the horrific scenes he witnessed to those who asked. The photographs he shared depicted acts of violence that defy belief. He spoke of a young woman who had been raped, and in a particularly monstrous act, the terrorists had driven nails into her private parts. The level of cruelty was beyond anything that could be imagined, highlighting the sheer inhumanity of the attackers.
The brutality did not end with rape. Masas revealed that some of the bodies had been burned after being shot, a final act of desecration by the terrorists. In other cases, the attackers had run a blade through their victims’ throats after shooting them, ensuring a slow and excruciating death. These acts were not merely about killing; they were designed to inflict the maximum amount of pain and terror, a reflection of the terrorists’ twisted mindset, likely exacerbated by the influence of cocaine.
The events of October 7th at the Nova music festival will be remembered as one of the darkest days in recent history. The revelation that the attackers were under the influence of cocaine only adds to the horror of what transpired. It highlights the lengths to which Hamas is willing to go to sow fear and destruction, using any means necessary to achieve their twisted goals.
As the world grapples with the aftermath of this tragedy, there is a growing call for accountability. The international community must recognize the true nature of Hamas and the dangers posed by their unrelenting violence, which is now compounded by the use of drugs to fuel their atrocities.
The bravery of individuals like Lt. Col. Eran Masas serves as a beacon of hope amidst the darkness, showing that even in the face of unimaginable evil, the human spirit can endure and fight back. But to prevent future atrocities, there must be a concerted effort to address the root causes of such violence and hold those responsible accountable for their actions.
