It was supposed to be a day of pure joy, with hours spent dancing with the love of his life.
But when Hamas terrorists attacked Nova festival on 7 October 2023, Roei Shalev’s life was tragically changed forever.
The 29-year-old was dancing the night away with his partner, Mapal Adam, and their best friend Hilly Solomon when rocket fire suddenly drowned out the music.
Roei, Mapal and Hilly frantically tried to escape by car, driving away from the festival grounds until they encountered a young woman stumbling into the road, covered in blood.
She warned them that there were Hamas gunmen behind her, so the trio exited their vehicle and ran to nearby trees to hide.
“Bullets whizzed past us, grenades exploded nearby, and terror engulfed us from all directions,” Roei said.
They dove under two abandoned cars – Roei and Mapal under one, Hilly under the other.
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But the gunmen caught up with them, shooting the three festivalgoers as they were pinned under the cars.
Roei tried to shield 26-year-old Mapal from the bullets, but she died beneath him while he was shot in the back. Hilly, 26, was also killed instantly.
What followed were “agonising” hours during which Roei lay still, covered in his and his girlfriend’s blood, and played dead.
Even when a second group of gunmen approached and shot at him a second time, hitting him in the back yet again, he did not move.
Seven hours later, the Israeli army found Roei alive.
“That day was the darkest I’ve ever known,” he later said.
But the terror continued.
A week after his girlfriend and best friend were killed, Roei’s mother Raffaela took her own life because she “couldn’t contain the pain and losses of October 7”, according to her son.
“In just one week, I lost three of the most important women to me in the world,” Roei said.
“In the months that followed, I struggled to cope. Flashbacks and anxiety consumed me, and sleep became a distant memory.”
Roei said therapy and the unwavering support of others gave him the strength to share his story publicly.
“I opened up on social media, laying bare the rawest details of my trauma. The response was overwhelming,” Roei wrote on a fundraising page for Nova festival survivors and their families last year.
“Messages poured in from people who found solace and inspiration in my journey. Their words gave me purpose, a reason to keep fighting.”
He said he was “uncertain of what the future holds”, but knew that he had to “honour the memory of the three extraordinary girls who were taken from us too soon”.
In the two years that followed these tragic events, Roei renamed the family bakery he had been running with his girlfriend to “Mapal Cafe”, in tribute to his “one and only love” and organised events to commemorate Mapal and Hilly.
“Amidst the pain and sorrow, I hold onto one truth: we will dance again,” he said in his fundraising post a year ago.
On Friday, shortly after the second anniversary of his girlfriend’s death, Roei was found dead in a burning car near Poleg Beach in Netanya, Israel.
Police have opened an investigation, according to Israeli media.
Shortly before his body was found, Roei had posted a note on his Instagram account, saying he “can’t go on anymore”.
“I’ve never felt such deep and burning pain and suffering in my life. It’s eating me up inside,” Roei wrote.
The organisers of Nova festival called his death “heartbreaking” and “deeply saddening” in a tribute.
“Roei was a pillar of strength within the community, and his death is an immeasurable loss for us. We share in this deep sorrow with his family, friends, and the Nova community, and we honour his memory,” Nova Exhibition said in an Instagram post.
“Sadly, many members of the Nova community are still experiencing traumatic moments daily since October 7. We ask everyone to show constant awareness and emotional sensitivity to the mental state of those affected by the October 7 events and to all survivors and bereaved families.”
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email [email protected] in the UK.
Alternatively, you can call Mind’s support line on 0300 102 1234, or NHS on 111.
