An Israeli survivor of the Hamas attack on the Nova music festival on October 7 2023 has been found dead, two years after watching his girlfriend and friend be killed.
Roei Shalev, 30, wrote on social media "I just want this suffering to end. I'm alive, but inside everything is dead", and asked for forgiveness.
Concerned family members and friends launched a search for him, but his body was recovered hours later by emergency services inside a burning car.
Shalev had attended the music festival with his girlfriend Mapal Adam and his friend Hilly Solomon when Hamas terrorists crossed the border from Gaza and launched a violent attack which ultimately killed 1,200 people.
The trio managed to escape by car but encountered a young woman covered in blood, who informed them that Hamas gunmen were behind her, so they decided to exit their vehicle and hide under two abandoned cars.
Mr Shalev attempted to shield his 26-year-old girlfriend from the bullets but she was killed alongside Miss Solomon, while he was shot twice in the back.
He lay under the car for the next seven hours, pretending to be dead until he was discovered by the Israeli army.
As a result of the attack, his mother took her own life a week later.
"In just one week, I lost three of the most important women to me in the world," Roei previously said.
"In the months that followed, I struggled to cope. Flashbacks and anxiety consumed me, and sleep became a distant memory."
Over the following two years, he has organised events to commemorate Miss Adam and Miss Solomon, and renamed his family bakery to ‘Mapal Cafe’ in tribute to his “one and only love”.
On the second anniversary of his girlfriend's death, Roei wrote on Instagram: "Two years have passed since the most terrible day of my life... and of a whole country.
"The longing for you is only getting bigger, the pain does not pass with time. It is always there, everywhere, all the time. I'm full of pain this year, even more than last year.”
He also addressed both her and Hilly, saying: "A huge apology that I couldn't keep you safe on this terrible day, you know I did everything, I did everything to keep you safe, my beloved.
"I preferred to die in agony and for you to survive it."
Three days after the anniversary, he posted on to his Instagram page to say he “can’t go on anymore”, and that his suffering was “eating me up inside”.
Hamas terrorists killed more than 370 people at the Nova music festival, while another 251 were taken hostage from the event or from the surrounding area in southern Israel.
Israel responded by launching a major military offensive that has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.
If you need to speak to someone, Samaritans are available 24/7 on 116 123 or by emailing jo@samaritans.org
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