‘Everything changed’: Nova festival survivors struggles one year on

Words by Deputy Content Editor Flora Hunter

Some readers may find details of this report distressing

Nehoray Levy still remembers the excitement of getting ready for his first music festival in Israel, packing everything he would need for two days of partying in the desert. 

He was looking forward to being reunited with “literally dozens” of friends, after a carefree year of travelling in South America. 

But ten of Nehoray’s close friends never made it home from the desert.  

They were among more than 350 people who that lost their lives when Hamas gunmen swarmed the Nova trance festival site at sunrise on October 7, 2023. 

"Before October 7 everything was happiness and fun for me and I was just starting my life as someone’s who is only 24,” Nehoray told ITV News.  

“I had a whole plan for my grown up-life, but everything shifted. My point of view, my mindset, my way of thinking - everything changed, everything.” 

Of the estimated 4,000 people who attended Nova, the majority were in their late teens or early twenties - the same age as Nehoray and his friends.

It's an age when going to trance festival is almost a rite of passage in Israel, often following military service and a year abroad.  

Like so many who survived the indiscriminate shooting and terror that day, Nehoray’s harrowing account goes from utter bliss to sheer terror.  

When the sirens first went off, he shrugged it off as a regular occurrence in Israel and sent a casual selfie to his parents to reassure them everything was “cool”. 

But within hours he was recording a farewell message to his family, convinced that he would not make it out alive. 

The selfie Nehoray sent his parents just before the attack on the Nova festival:

The farewell video Nehoray for his family as he fled for his life:

As it became clear that the festival was under attack, Nehoray said he started to run, but turned back to help others get to safety.

Some were frozen with terror; others were struggling to accept it was real because they were drunk or had taken psychedelic drugs. 

“It was hard because the atmosphere was that you’re with your friends, dancing in the rain, you’re not thinking about being hunted down by thousands of terrorists,” Nehoray said.

“We needed to actually convince them that something real is going on, because they thought we were hallucinating or something.” 

When he finally fled for safety, Nehoray witnessed what he calls “an apocalypse”. Two people were shot right next to him as he was running for cover. 

“Those were the moments when you’re really feeling overwhelming helplessness,” he recalled.

“Because you’re running for your life, but at the same time, you’re getting people dying and screaming for help. And you know you can’t do anything; you can’t go back.” 

The final death toll was 364, according to police. In addition, 40 festival goers were taken hostage by Hamas. It was one of the worst civilian atrocities in Israel’s history. 

Although thousands escaped with their lives and their liberty, some were badly wounded, others were raped or sexually assaulted, and many have told of being eyewitness to scenes of unimaginable horror.

“The question that was in my head all the time was, why did I survive?,” said Nehoray, who is now being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 

“We lost a lot of people that day. So why me?” 

It’s a common question, according to Safe Heart, a non-profit organisation which provides clinical therapy and retreats for Nova festival survivors. 

Safe Heart, which was set up in the immediate aftermath of the massacre, is now supporting 1,300 people.  

Co-founder Yair Grynbaum told ITV News that, as Israelis deal with the collective trauma of the conflicts that have followed October 7, more and more people need a diminishing number of resources.  

One year is not long enough to recover from such an ordeal and festival survivors require long term support, according to Grynbaum. 

“Many don’t have the means or the social or mental ability to take care of themselves," he said. “As time progresses, it just becomes more difficult.” 

He said Safe Heart is helping survivors with complex issues, from deep depression and psychosis to addiction. Some have returned to work despite not being fit to do so, while others are unable to feed or wash themselves without their family’s support. 

And the anniversary has proved to be an emotional trigger. In the days leading up to it, Safe Heart saw a significant rise in patients failing to make therapy appointments or having difficulty sleeping. 

“There are flashbacks, so there’s a regression right now, because the stress is immense,” Grynbaum said. “And it’s not only the one year anniversary, Israel is bleeding all over.” 

Grynbaum believes the specific circumstances of that day, including the element of drug or alcohol intake, have created an “unprecedented” cocktail of trauma and guilt. 

“Think how weird it is that you have been to a festival with your friends, you are enjoying the climax of the evening, enjoying your best time of life, seeing the sunrise, and then the rockets come and people are fleeing all around and then terrorists are entering the party and you are running for your life,” he explained. “And your friends are falling beside you. 

“There’s a big issue with survivor blame. A lot of them say 'that bullet was aimed at me, but he died'. 

“They feel that if I have survived this, there must be the reason, and the reason is that I will keep their stories alive.” 

That was echoed by Nehoray. 

“I survived for a reason,” he said. “I decided I’m going to live my life for me, and for my ten friends who that I lost.  

“I am trying to take advantage of every minute that I am alive and am able to do something, because sometimes I am not able, because of the flashbacks, the triggers, the intensity of feelings and emotions.” 

Nehoray is now following his childhood dream of becoming an actor and has just completed his first year of acting school. 

However, he opted to mark the anniversary of his friends’ deaths by speaking about his experience at an awareness raising event in the US. 

And he is now encouraging other survivors to seek therapy and to speak about their ordeal. 

He wants them to accept there will be tough days but urges them “to choose life”. 

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