Topics: Israel, World News, Mental Health, Sex and Relationships, Health
The boyfriend of an Israeli woman who attended the Tribe of Nova festival and has been missing ever since has spoken out.
Ohad Malul met his girlfriend of two years Shani Kupervaser at university.
Kupervaser was one of the roughly 3,000 people who are reported as having attended the rave in the Negez Desert which was attacked by the Hamas militant group on Saturday (7 October) when armed gunmen paraglided onto the site.
Malul has since spoken out following losing contact with Kupervaser.
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Malul was meant to go to the rave with his girlfriend, but pulled out from the event at the last minute.
He told the New York Post: "I feel like I needed to go and be there with her. Maybe I could have done something different. It’s killing me inside that I am not with her.
"We don’t know if she is alive, dead or if she is missing. We don’t know if she is kidnapped because nobody told us."
Over 260 people have been confirmed dead and their bodies have been recovered from the festival as a result of the Hamas' attack, according to rescue agency Zaka.
Israeli authorities have released lists of the names of the dead, and thankfully Malul hasn't seen his girlfriend's name, but she also hasn't been found at any hospitals.
Malul now believes his girlfriend may be one of the many people who've been kidnapped by the militant group.
After speaking with friends who made it out of the festival. Malul knows the last time Kupervaser was seen was after she abandoned a car with three friends to take cover from the incoming bombs in a roadside shelter.
The shelter turned out to be trick, '30 people' taken in and Hamas militants 'threw grenades inside it', Malul says.
He continues: "After five or six grenades, the terrorists got upset and got an RPG rocket and shot through the door.
"It is something that you can’t imagine, them throwing grenades in a small room just to kill everyone. The other people who survived can almost not talk. They are devastated."
In a post to Facebook, Malul writes: "Shani, my partner, was last seen in Migonit in Raim, any information will help, please share to reach as many people as possible. Contact for anything - 0548000083 Fan."
The boyfriend recalls his last conversation with Kupervaser: "She said 'I will come back, I won’t go for long…Everything is going to be OK'."
"I just hope that she is alive, that’s it. Just the hope. If they take her from me, my heart is going to break totally."
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.
You can also call 1-800-985-5990 or text “TalkWithUs” to 66746 at the SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline.
