Nova festival survivor found dead two years after 7 October attack

An Israeli survivor of the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack on the Nova musical festival who saw his girlfriend murdered in front of him has been found dead.

Roei Shalev’s body was recovered on Friday evening near Tel Aviv.

Hours earlier the 30-year-old wrote on social media that “I just want this suffering to end. I’m alive, but inside everything is dead”. He also asked for forgiveness.

Shalev’s mother took her own life two weeks after the Hamas attack.

Shalev died three days after the two-year anniversary of the Hamas attack.

During the attack he tried to shield his girlfriend Mapal Adam and was also shot, but survived by playing dead for hours.

Concerned by Shalev’s message, his friends and family members immediately started searching for him.

His body was eventually recovered by emergency services near the city of Netanya.

Israeli police are now investigating the circumstances surrounding his death.

Survivors of the Nova festival massacre said they were “heartbroken and deeply saddened by the death of our dear friend”.

“Roei was a pillar of strength within the community, and his death is an immeasurable loss for us,” they wrote in a post on Instagram.

“Sadly, many members of the Nova community are still experiencing traumatic moments daily since 7 October,” they said, asking everyone “to show constant awareness and emotional sensitivity the mental state of those affected” by those events.

About 1,200 people were killed, including more than 370 at the Nova music festival, and 251 taken hostage in the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023 on southern Israel.

Israel responded by launching a military offensive that has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.