Nova Festival Hero Roei Shalev Dies by Suicide Two Years After October 7th

In a gut-punching blow that has left Israel engulfed in waves of grief and outrage, Roei Shalev, the courageous 29-year-old survivor who desperately shielded his girlfriend from Hamas bullets during the barbaric October 7, 2023, massacre at the Nova music festival, has tragically died by suicide, unable to escape the haunting shadows of that fateful day.

Shalev's body was discovered on October 11, 2025, mere days after the second anniversary of the blood-soaked horror that claimed 364 lives at the Supernova rave near Kibbutz Re'im, inside a blazing car on Route 2 near Netanya, in a desperate act of self-immolation that echoes the unimaginable pain he carried.

Hours before, he poured out his soul in a chilling farewell on social media: "I’m really sorry, I can’t take this pain anymore. Please don’t be angry with me... I just want this suffering to end. I’m alive, but inside, everything is dead."

On that cursed morning two years ago, Shalev, then 28, huddled under a truck with his beloved girlfriend Mapal Adam and close friend Hili Solomon (also called Hilly), playing dead for agonizing hours as Palestinian jihadists rampaged through the festival.

But the terrorists discovered them, unleashing a hail of gunfire. Shalev was struck twice, yet he valiantly tried to protect Mapal, only to watch helplessly as she was executed in his arms, alongside Hili.

The nightmare deepened when, just nine days later, his devastated mother took her own life in a similar fiery act, leaving Shalev shattered beyond repair.

For two grueling years, Shalev channeled his anguish into advocacy, sharing his raw testimony in interviews, including a poignant one with basketball trainer Barak Swartz, where he became like a brother to many, urging greater mental health support for October 7 survivors.

Yet, as friends and Mapal's sister, TV presenter Maayan Adam, frantically searched after his alarming post, the search ended in heartbreak.

Maayan poignantly hoped the lovers were reunited: "Roei was murdered on October 7 and died yesterday... I hope these two kids are hugging and smiling right now."

This devastating loss underscores the relentless psychological devasation of the October 7 attacks, where over 10,000 survivors have sought trauma care, and suicide rates have alarmingly spiked among those haunted by the festival's slaughter of 364 innocents and the broader assault that killed 1,200 and saw 251 abducted.

As the Nova organization pleads for awareness, Shalev's story screams a urgent warning: The wounds of terror cut deeper than flesh, claiming lives long after the guns fall silent.