October 7 survivor who noticed girlfriend murdered in entrance of him and performed lifeless for hours kills himself after asserting ‘I can not bear this ache any extra’

An October 7 survivor who saw his girlfriend murdered in front of him during Hamas‘ attack on the Nova music festival has died by suicide after announcing: ‘I cannot bear this pain anymore’

Roei Shalev’s body was found on Friday evening in his burned car north of Tel Aviv, hours after he had posted a message on social media expressing his intention to end his life.

‘I cannot bear this pain anymore. I am burning on the inside… I just want this pain to end,’ he wrote on his Instagram account. 

Mr Shalev’s girlfriend, Mapal Adam, and his best friend, Hili Solomon, were murdered before his very eyes at the hands of Hamas militants who had crossed into southern Israel from Gaza before launching their deadly terrorist attack on Nova music festival.

Mr Shalev had to pretend he was dead for hours after being shot in the back during the devastating assault. He had been trying to hide under cars with Ms Adam and Mr Solomon before they were killed.

The unprecented offensive shocked Israel to its core and has caused devastating mental health impacts on those who witnessed the massacre.

Mr Shalev’s own mother even took her own life two weeks after the Hamas offensive, which had caused him significant emotional trauma, according to Israeli media reports.

Several Israeli politicians have called for greater support for survivors of the attacks after hearing of Mr Shalev’s death.

‘It is time for the State of Israel to treat those suffering from mental health issues as heroes – not as statistics,’ Avigdor Liberman, leader of the hawkish Yisrael Beytenu party, wrote on X.

Roei Shalev has died by suicide after seeing his girlfriend (right) Mapal Adam murdered in front of him during Hamas ‘attack on the Nova music festival in Israel on October 7, 2023

Mr Shalev played dead for hours during the 2023 attacks which saw his girlfriend and his best friend murdered before his eyes

‘Roei could not withstand the pain, but others are still here fighting, coping, trying to live, wrote Yair Golan, head of the left-wing Democrats party.

He added: ‘We must give them all the help we can – so they don’t feel alone.’

More than 370 revellers were massacred when Palestinian militants crossed from Gaza into Israel in the early hours of October 7, 2023, attacking the music festival and several nearby communities.

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