A MAN took his own life at the grave of his girlfriend who was killed by Hamas in the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Bar Asraf, 30, had lost his “soulmate since childhood”, Liron Barda, at the hands of ruthless militants, and had difficulty coping in the aftermath.
Bar and Liron pictured together Credit: @chalavyishmael/X
Liron was working as a bar managed at the doomed Nova Festival Credit: @JeremBenhaim/X
His sister, Lehi, found his cold body in a pool of blood at his girlfriend’s grave, with a gun beside him.
“I walked over, and suddenly I saw him lying next to Liron’s grave,” she told Walla, as reported by The Jerusalem Post.
Sign up for The Jattvibe newsletter
Thank you!
“I said to him, ‘Bar, get up, what are you doing again…’ and then I realized he was covered in blood.
“I stepped on a gun beside him. I screamed. I couldn’t function. My father started CPR. I knew it was the end. He was cold.
BLITZ OFF
Trump axes Iran strikes after vowing he was ready to unleash WW2-level blitz
HOLD FIRE
Trump told Netanyahu he may find himself ‘fighting alone’ if he resumed Iran war
“He died in the place he wanted to be most, with the woman he wanted to be with most.”
Lehi said her brother had been actually coping well, but had “a moment of madness,” being alone while seeing everyone with their families.
On the day of the massacre, Liron had been working as the bar manager at the Nova music festival in Re’im.
When Hamas attacked, her friends and family begged her to flee, but she stayed to provide first aid to the wounded until she was killed herself.
The couple were described as “soulmates since childhood” Credit: @jewishlivesmatter/Instagram
Bar had even tried to drive to the site of the attack to rescue his girlfriend Credit: October 7 Memorial
Hearing of what was happening, Bar got into the car and drove towards the festival in the hopes of rescuing his girlfriend.
“My brother realized there was no one left to save and they turned him back halfway,” his sister added.
His mother, Bracha, said he was a “special boy of giving, of love, who gave his sisters everything.”
Describing his relationship with Liron, she added: “If he was feeling down, she would lift him up – she was his listening ear.
Liron had stayed behind to help the wounded Credit: Honor October 7
A family sits to a memorial of one of the victims of the 2023 October 7 attacks at the Nova Festival grounds Credit: AFP
“Everything to him. Every problem he had, she was his confidante. When he was in Colombia, she surprised him and flew out to meet him there. A friendship you can’t even describe.”
In the aftermath, Bar remained close to Liron’s family – bringing flowers to her mother, staying by their side and supporting them – and even got a tattoo of her.
Shiran Maor, chair of Safe Heart, which provides mental health support to the survivors and their families, said “our hearts break over this devastating tragedy.”
“Trauma doesn’t just affect the survivors,” he added. “Partners, parents, family members, and friends carry immense pain as well, coping daily with the aftermath of loss and trauma.”
Bar’s death comes less than a year after Roei Shalev, 28, was found dead in a burning car on a highway.
He was the sole survivor of his group after his girlfriend and best friend were killed in the attack.
A report from April 2024 detailed how almost 50 people who had fled the violence of Nova Festival had died by suicide in the six months after.
How to get help
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.
And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women.
Yet it’s rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
