Bruno Mars cancels sold-out Tel Aviv concert and flees Israel following the Hamas attacks

• Bruno Mars was set to perform a second sold-out show at Tel Aviv's Hayarkon Park on Saturday.
• Organizers announced that the show had been called off following the Hamas attacks in Israeli territory.

Bruno Mars canceled his second sold-out show in Tel Aviv, Israel, after Hamas militants launched a surprise wave of attacks from Gaza on Saturday.

Mars, 38, was set to perform a second show at Hayarkon Park in Tel Aviv on October 7 following a concert at the venue on Wednesday, October 4. Both dates were sold out, according to The Jerusalem Post.

But as gun battles continue to rage across the region, the show's organizer Live Nation Israel issued a statement on its official Instagram page early on Saturday morning announcing that the performance had been called off.

The statement — originally posted in Hebrew — says: "Dear customers, the performance of Bruno Mars that was planned to take place tonight is canceled."

"All ticket buyers for the show will receive an automatic refund to the credit card with which the purchase was made," it continued. "We are strengthening the residents of Israel, the IDF fighters, and the security forces in these difficult moments."

Israeli television presenter Guy Pines confirmed that the singer had left the country on Saturday afternoon. The Times of Israel reported that Pines — who documented his attendance at Mars' concert the evening before — shared an Instagram Story showing Mars and his crew at the departures terminal at Ben Gurion airport.

Alongside the photo, he wrote: "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."

Saturday's concert would have seen Mars join the ranks of Madonna and Michael Jackson as the only artists who have played two sold-out shows at Hayarkon Park, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.

The outlet also reported that Mars — who is one-quarter Jewish — surprised the audience by speaking a few words in Hebrew during the first show.

Representatives for Mars did not respond to a request for comment from Insider, which was made outside of regular work hours.

Israel declared a "state of war" on Saturday after Hamas bombarded the country with rockets from Gaza while its fighters carried out surprise attacks from land, sea, and air.

Israel claims that 600 Israelis have been killed so far in the conflict, inlcuding both civilians and military personnel, the BBC reported.