Traumatised survivor of Nova festival found dead on 22nd birthday a year after fleeing ‘death car’ where Hamas killed 11
Date: 2024-10-21A TRAUMATISED survivor of the Nova music festival was found dead on her 22nd birthday – a year on from fleeing a car where Hamas killed 11.
Shirel Golan took her own life a year on from the October 7 massacre after bravely battling with post-traumatic stress disorder, her family said Sunday.
Hamas’ soldiers killed 364 at the Israeli music festival when they struck in the early hours of the horror terror attack.
She is among hundreds who fled the horror while witnessing fellow revellers gunned down by the militants.
Tragically, Shirel’s body was found in her apartment in northwestern Israel on October 20 – her 22nd birthday.
Now the Golan family are slamming Israeli state authorities for not providing Shirel with the help she needed.
Her brother Eyal told Hebrew media that Shirel took her life the very first time her family had left her alone in the last year.
Shirel had tragically been hospitalised for her PTSD symptoms twice during that year, he said.
Eyal said: “The state killed Golan… if the state doesn’t wake up, there will be more cases like this.
“The State of Israel killed my sister twice. Once in October, mentally, and a second time today, on her 22nd birthday, physically.”
During the massacre, Shirel and her partner declined to escape the festival site in a “death car” with 11 others and hid instead in a bush.
Those people were killed or taken hostage by the terror group shortly after.
Shirel and partner Adi were rescued instead by police officer Remo Salman El-Hozayel – who rescued another 200 people over the course of the day.
Eyal said that in the weeks following the massacre, Shirel showed symptoms of PTSD like disassociation and withdrawal.
He said Shirel received no help from authorities, instead receiving some help from a charity set up to help survivors of the festival.
He said: “My mother was forced to take early retirement to be next to her daughter.
What is PTSD?
POST-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can seriously impact someone’s life.
Those suffering from the condition have nightmares and flashbacks, and struggle to move forward.
PTSD is an anxiety disorder caused by intensely stressful, frightening or distressing events.
People affected by the condition are often forced to relive a traumatic event from their past, such as through a series of nightmares and flashbacks.
They may also experience feelings of isolation, guilt, irritability, insomnia, and a lack of concentration.
In many cases, these symptoms have a serious impact on the person’s day-to-day life.
The first cases of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were documented during the First World War, between 1914 and 1918.
Soldiers developed ‘shell shock’ due to the harrowing conditions in the trenches, and witnessing the horrors of war.
“We didn’t move a millimetre from her, and the only time we left her alone was today, and she decided to take her own life.”
The Welfare and Social Services Ministry told the Times of Israel that it “provides an assistance package and support to party survivors in a wide variety of forms”.
Stories of survivors from the horrific terror attack have emerged recently with its one year anniversary.
A model who survived the Nova festival massacre has told how she was forced to hide in a skip.
Noam Ben David, 28, was shot in the hip and legs on October 7 last year – but kept quiet as she hid under a pile of dead bodies to save herself from the bloodbath.
She told The Sun her partner David Neman was among dozens slaughtered before her very eyes in a sick game of “Russian Roulette”.
YOU'RE NOT ALONE
EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide.
It doesn’t discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society – from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.
It’s the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.
Yet it’s rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.
That is why The Sun launched the You’re Not Alone campaign.
The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives.
Let’s all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others… You’re Not Alone.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
- CALM, www.thecalmzone.net, 0800 585 858
- Heads Together, www.headstogether.org.uk
- Mind, www.mind.org.uk, 0300 123 3393
- Papyrus, www.papyrus-uk.org, 0800 068 41 41
- Samaritans, www.samaritans.org, 116 123
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