Alok reunites with his father after rave attack that left 260 people dead

Brazilian DJ Alok, 32 years old, and his father and also DJ Juarez Petrillo, 53 years old, met again this Wednesday afternoon (11). The artist’s father was in Israel for an electronic music festival, which was the target of attacks by the extremist group Hamas last Saturday (7).

Petrillo, who is known as DJ Swarup, was supposed to be one of the attractions at the Brazilian festival Universo Paralelo, when the event was hit by missiles launched from the Gaza Strip. At least 260 people died.

Juarez managed to return to Brazil on the fifth day of the conflict between Israel and Palestine, and his return relieved fans, who celebrated, as well as his own son.

In a post on Instagram, Alok wrote: “What a relief to be able to hug you, dad!” The text accompanies a record of the hug between father and son.

A day after the attack, Alok gave details about how his father managed to escape the bombing. According to him, the attack happened moments before Swarup started his performance.

Israeli authorities confirmed that two of the 260 dead were Brazilians who participated in the festival. They are Ranani Glazer and Bruna Valeanu, both 24 years old.

“As many of you know, in the midst of all this anguish here, my father was at the event that a great massacre by cowardly terrorists took place,” Alok said in a video.

The DJ also said that his father experienced moments of terror while fleeing the attacks, and that the car behind the one used by Petrillo to escape was shot by the extremists. “Many of his acquaintances were in that vehicle,” said Alok.

Petrillo is one of the creators of Universo Paralelo, but denies having organized the event in Israel. Those responsible for the event in the Middle Eastern country were 30-year-old twins Osher and Michael Waknin. Osher was buried on Tuesday (10) in Jerusalem, while Michael remains missing.

A third Brazilian suffered injuries while escaping the attack, but is doing well. Israeli authorities cannot estimate how many people are missing, but there are Brazilians among the group.

On social media, DJ Swarup posts photos at various electronic music festivals around the world. About 10 weeks ago, he was one of the attractions at a rave party in Portugal. Then he performed in Spain.

In addition to Alok, Petrillo is the father of Bhaskar, also a DJ. Swarup has been working in music since 1970.

The party at which the attack took place was held in Tel Aviv, a city less than 20 km from the Gaza Strip. The place has an intense schedule of similar parties and is seen as a libertarian stronghold for young people amidst the predominant conservatism of the Middle East.

Juarez has not yet commented on his return to Brazil.