Bruno Mars’ sold-out Saturday evening concert in Tel Aviv has been canceled due to a bloody flare-up of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hamas carried out a surprise invasion of Israel from the occupied Gaza Strip that morning, unleashing a barrage of thousands of rockets and breaching the border by land, sea and air.
The death toll in Israel has passed 200, with at least 1,100 injured and an unknown number of civilians and soldiers kidnapped. Israel responded with airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, killing more than 200 people, according to local health officials.
“Citizens of Israel, we are at war,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared, pledging to “fight back on a scale and intensity not yet experienced by the enemy.” The enemy will pay an unprecedented price.’
As the violence continued, Live Nation Israel announced that Bruno’s concert in Tel Aviv had been canceled and ticket prices would be refunded.
Canceled: Bruno Mars’ sold-out Saturday night concert in Tel Aviv canceled due to bloody flare-up of Israeli-Palestinian conflict; pictured at the Grammys last year
“Dear customers, Bruno Mars’ performance that was supposed to take place tonight has been canceled,” the company wrote on Instagram in Hebrew.
‘All ticket buyers for the show will automatically receive a refund on the credit card used to make the purchase. We support the people of Israel, the IDF fighters and the security forces in these difficult moments.”
The attack from Gaza began a day after the 50th anniversary of the October Surprise in Egypt and Syria, which ignited the Yom Kippur War.
As Saturday’s attack took place, Hamas gunmen stormed through Israeli towns, shooting residents and soldiers alike.
Chilling images have emerged of the militants kidnapping Israeli civilians, including grandmothers and bruised, bloodied young women.
The United Nations Security Council will hold a meeting on the conflict on Sunday, following a loud call from Hamas for other Muslim countries to join the war effort.
Chants of “Death to Israel!” and ‘Death to America!’ sounded in the Iranian parliament, and the Taliban reportedly asked whether Iran, Iraq and Jordan could allow them to pass through the three countries to “capture Jerusalem.”
Bruno Mars played his very first concert in Israel on Wednesday evening, singing for a whopping 63,000 fans in Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park.
Location: Bruno Mars played his first-ever concert in Israel on Wednesday, singing to 63,000 fans in Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park, pictured at a 2021 Nurit Gatron concert
Israelis traveled from all over the country to Tel Aviv to attend the sold-out performance, according to the local news outlet Ynet.
On stage that evening, Mars added a touch of local flavor to proceedings, revealing that he had learned to say “I love you” in Hebrew.
Saturday night was supposed to be his second and final show in Israel, also in Yarkon Park, before it was canceled in the wake of the war.
Mars will perform at the Qatar Grand Prix in Lusail next Sunday, after which he will take a break before resuming his tour in Florida in December.
