TEL AVIV: After cancelling a concert and spending several hours in Tel Aviv, American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars left Israel, citing the terror attacks on the country by terrorist group Hamas and the ongoing counter-offensive.
A screenshot of Mars, his band, and crew lining up at Ben Gurion Airport’s Terminal 1 was shared by the entertainment show ‘Good Evening with Guy Pines’ on their Instagram story, The Times of Israel reported.
The show-runners also captioned the post, “To your question, after the cancellation of the show due to the war, Bruno Mars left Israel today at 2 in the afternoon together with 60 crew members. He flew to Athens and from there will head to Qatar to continue his tour.”
Mars performed in Israel for the first time on Wednesday, according to the US-based portal Deadline.
Reportedly, Bruno Mars is scheduled to perform in Qatar on Sunday night.
Around 6:30 am (local time) on Saturday, a barrage of rocket fire began from Gaza into Israel, hitting several cities including Tel Aviv, Rehovot, Gedera, and Ashkelon.
This was followed by several Hamas terrorists entering Israel from the Gaza Strip and taking over Israeli towns.
Hamas military commander Muhammad Al-Deif called the operation “Al-Aqsa Flood”, saying the assault on Israel was a response to attacks on women, the desecration of the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem and the ongoing siege of Gaza.
Meanwhile, the death toll from the Hamas terror group’s multi-front attack on Israel soared past 300 now and is expected to mount, reports stated.
Notably, Palestinian terrorists, who entered Israel from Gaza early on Saturday morning, unleashing an unprecedented ground assault on civilians, are still being sought by Israeli security authorities in southern Israel villages, according to reports.
An undetermined number of terrorists were captured or killed by security forces and others while some managed to sneak back into Gaza with hostages, including women, children, and senior citizens, according to reports.
In an unprecedented attack that few Israelis saw coming on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah on Saturday, Hamas fired thousands of rockets and sent dozens of fighters into Israeli towns near the Gaza Strip.
Israel launched ‘Operation Swords of Iron’, striking a number of suspected Hamas hideouts in the Gaza Strip.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s response to the Hamas incursion will “exact a huge price” on the terrorist group, according to reports.
As many as 1,590 people were injured in the Hamas attacks, many seriously. (ANI)