Former soccer star Lior Asulin was among over 260 victims who were killed during the Hamas terrorist attack at the Supernova music festival in Israel this weekend. Asulin was attending the festival while celebrating his 43rd birthday.
Lior Asulin during a 2010 interview | SCREENSHOT: צימר אין/YouTube
Viral videos captured the moment Saturday morning when Hamas paragliders descended on the festival that was held near Gaza. Suddenly, shots rang out. Dozens were quickly taken hostage, while many others were killed. Among the dead was Asulin, who played from 1995-2017.
The Hamas attacks are a horrific continuation of the 75-year conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians, who showed no remorse in taking credit for the assault. Along with the destruction, citizens were taken captive, although it’s not clear how many Israelis or foreign visitors may have been abducted.
The United States immediately came to Israel’s defense. 11 Americans are believed to be among the dead thus far.
“While we are still working to confirm, we believe it is likely that American citizens may be among those being held by Hamas,” President Joe Biden said in a written statement. “I have directed my team to work with their Israeli counterparts on every aspect of the hostage crisis, including sharing intelligence and deploying experts from across the United States government to consult with and advise Israeli counterparts on hostage recovery efforts.”
The late Lior Asulin notably played for Hapoel Tel Aviv, as well as Israeli Premier League teams such as Beitar Jerusalem and Maccabi Herzliya. He also played in Cyprus with Apollon Limassol. During his decorated career, Asulin was a member of an Arab team, Bnei Sakhnin, helping them become the first Arab team to win the Israel State Cup.
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