Israel attack survivor dies by suicide

JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel was gripped by sorrow and shock on Saturday following the suicide of Roei Shalev, a survivor of the 7 October 2023, Hamas attack on the Nova music festival, in which his girlfriend was killed.

Shalev's body was found Friday night 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.

Several secular opposition politicians — many of whom, unlike most ruling coalition members, remain active on social media during the Jewish Sabbath — reacted with dismay to the news on Saturday and called for greater mental health support for survivors of the 7 October attacks.

"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 could not withstand the pain, but others are still here fighting, coping, trying to live. We must give them all the help we can — so they don't feel alone," wrote Yair Golan, head of the left-wing Democrats party.

Shalev's girlfriend, Mapal Adam, and his best friend, Hili Solomon, were murdered before his eyes at the Nova music festival in southern Israel.

The three had been trying to hide under cars as Hamas-led militants launched their unprecedented assault on southern Israel.