A Nova festival survivor has tragically been found dead on her 22nd birthday after committing suicide.
Shirel Golan suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder following the Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023, before she committed suicide, her brother Eyal Golan said.
She was found dead in her apartment in Porat, near Netanya in northwestern Israel, on October 20, on her 22nd birthday.
Her brother has now blamed the State of Israel for her death, saying she has not received help despite being hospitalized twice for her PTSD symptoms.
“If the state had taken care of her, none of this would have happened. The State of Israel killed my sister twice. Once in October mentally, and a second time today, on her 22nd birthday, physically,” he told local media.
Shirel Golan (pictured) struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder after the Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023, before committing suicide, according to her brother Eyal Golan.
Shirel was found dead in her apartment in Porat, near Netanya in northwestern Israel, on October 20, her 22nd birthday.
This aerial photograph shows abandoned and torched vehicles at the scene of the October 7 attack on the Supernova Desert Music Festival by Palestinian militants near Kibbutz Reim in the Negev Desert in southern Israel on October 13, 2023.
Festival-goer Vlada Patapov (left) flees the scene of the massacre at the Nova Festival on October 7, where Hamas gunmen opened fire on revellers, killing hundreds
Shirel was at the Nova Festival in southern Israel with her partner Adi when Hamas terrorists stormed the area near Kibbutz Re’im, killing 364 revellers more than a year ago.
The couple hid under a bush for hours and narrowly escaped death when they refused to get into a car with 11 others, who were killed or taken hostage by Hamas shortly after.
They were rescued by heroic police officer Remo Salman El-Hozayel, who led them to safety. El-Hozayel had commandeered a car and reportedly rescued 200 festival-goers.
In the weeks following the massacre, Shirel showed symptoms of PTSD, including dissociation and withdrawal, her family said.
Her brother Eyal said that when he told Shirel to seek help, she told him she had received no help from the state.
The only help she had received was from the grassroots organization Tribe of Nova Community, which was founded by other survivors of the Nova festival and relatives of the victims.
Eyal said his family tried to care for Shirel.
“My mother was forced to take early retirement to be with her daughter. We are not an inch away from her and the only time we left her alone was today, and she decided to commit suicide,” he told Israeli broadcaster Channel 12.
Destroyed cars and personal belongings are still strewn across the grounds of the Supernova Music Festival, where hundreds of people were killed and dozens taken by Hamas militants near the Gaza border, on October 13, 2023 in Kibbutz Re’im, Israel
Eyal said his family tried to take care of Shirel. “My mother was forced to take early retirement to be with her daughter. We are not an inch away from her and the only time we left her alone was today, and she decided to commit suicide,” he told Israeli broadcaster Channel 12.
Shirel’s distraught brother said suicide should be a wake-up call for the state
Shirel’s distraught brother said suicide should be a wake-up call for the state.
Israel’s Ministry of Welfare and Social Services has reportedly denied that Shirel was not receiving care from the state.
A statement said she was recognized and treated in the social security system “even before October 7 and especially afterward.”
The ministry also urged survivors to contact its 24-hour hotline if they needed emotional support.