Fears for missing British man, 26, who last texted his mother to say ‘rockets were flying over’ music festival where he was working as a security guard before Hamas ambush
- Jake Harlowe, 26, was working at a festival that was attacked by Hamas militants
- His current whereabouts are not know by embassy officials
- He last texted his mum about ‘rockets flying’ overhead at the festival, near Gaza
A young British man who last texted his mother about ‘rockets flying over’ a music festival near the Gaza Strip is feared tp be missing.
Jake Harlowe, 26, has not been heard from since Saturday morning after he was working as part of a security team at the festival near Re’im, a village close to the border with Gaza.
The Israeli Embassy in London said that he is currently ‘missing near Gaza’ following the attack on the festival by Hamas militants on Saturday.
Jake’s mother, Lisa, said she received a call in the early hours of the morning from him, telling her that the festival was under attack.
‘He was doing security at this rave and called me at 4.30am to say all these rockets were flying over,’ she said.
Jake Harlowe (pictured) was working as a security guard at a music festival that was attacked by Hamas militants
‘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.’
She added that Jake permanently moved to the city of Ma’alot, in north Israel, two years ago.
The Israeli Embassy confirmed that Jake is currently missing, and a spokesperson told MailOnline that it was currently working with and supporting his family.
Jake and his family aren’t the only Brits who have been terrorised by the unprecedented attack on Israel by Hamas militants.
A family of British-Israeli citizens revealed they spent nine hours in hiding after being woken up by rocket fire in the early hours of Saturday morning in their homes, just one-and-a-half miles from Israel’s border with Gaza.
Israeli festivalgoers run for their lives through the desert after being warned of an incoming rocket attack just as Hamas invaded the country on Saturday
Panic swept through the crowd who were partying in the north-western Negev desert, about 5 miles from the city of Ofakim.
People could be seen hurriedly packing their cars in a desperate effort to get away
Hamas claimed to have fired 5,000 rockets into Israel from the occupied Gaza Strip, setting off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem
Deborah Mintz, originally from Romford, hid in a tiny room with her grandson Kai, and his parents, Aimee and Uriel Labban, both in their 30s.
The family’s house and cars were torched by Hamas fighters, while their pet dog was killed, the family said.
At one point, as smoke poured into their safe room, they were forced to lift Kai up to the ceiling to protect him from the fumes
The family was finally freed just before 3pm local time as Israeli Defence Forces arrived and escorted them to a nearby bomb shelter
Russell Langer, a policy researcher related to the family, told the Telegraph he learnt of their plight when they received a text message saying: ‘We are stuck. They came in and burnt our house’.
Israelis could be heard shouting, running, and hurriedly getting into cars as they attempt to escape
Some could be seen scrambling for the safety of cars to get away from danger
Videos posted to social media appears to depict scenes of chaos in the sand
Langer said told the newspaper: ‘Baby Kai appears to be okay, but [he is] a bit covered in soot,’ he said. ‘The house is burnt out, as are their cars.’
Meanwhile, British woman Charlotte, and her mum, were stuck in Tel Aviv as Hamas rockets rained down on the city.
‘We were outside when the missiles were directed at Tel Aviv and I have never heard anything so loud.’
The pair are currently stuck in Tel Aviv in a hotel, and told Sky News they are in regular contact with the British embassy, which assured them it was doing everything it could to fly them home.
‘We’ve received very few updates whilst here [and] the streets are deserted and everything has been closed.’
She said she has an app that has been alerting her and her mum of incoming missiles, and woke up to 2,000 different notifications regarding strikes since Sunday morning.
Israeli civilians were purportedly taken off the street and driven back into Gaza
Hamas militants fired thousands of rockets and sent dozens of fighters into Israeli towns near the Gaza Strip in an unprecedented surprise early morning attack during a major Jewish holiday Saturday. Pictured, people try to extinguish fire on cars following a rocket attack from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, southern Israel
A woman in Tel Aviv picks her way through rubble late on Saturday
Dozens of rockets are fired by Palestinians towards Israel on Saturday night
The surprise attack began on Saturday morning after Hamas fighters blitzed into Israel on motorised paragliders during a lightning offensive, while thousands of rockets rained down across the south of the country.
Footage showed squads of Palestinians on suicide missions swooping over the border on the aircraft, spreading fear and chaos among cowering families below before landing and opening fire on Israeli civilians and soldiers alike.
Fighters fired some 2,500 missiles into Israel from 7am UK time. As they rained down on major towns, and even as far as Tel Aviv nearly 50 miles away, fighters used explosives to break through the border fence.
Israel as since begun retaliating, striking Gaza and flattening residential buildings in massive explosions, including a 14-storey tower that was home to dozens of families.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today warned that Israel faces a ‘long and difficult war’ with Palestine, telling reporters after a meeting of the country’s security cabinet early on Sunday that it had now begun its ‘offensive phase.’
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