A year later, authorities say hostage Idan Shtivi killed during October 7 attack
IDF cites new findings in declaring death of volunteer photographer, 28, apparently killed while trying to escape Nova rave; his body is one of 34 held in Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces said Monday that hostage Idan Shtivi was killed during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught in southern Israel, the announcement coming year to the day his body was kidnapped into Gaza, where it is still being held.
The grim development, announced on the first anniversary of the unprecedented assault, was based on new intelligence findings, the military said.
The IDF said it had informed Shtivi’s family on Sunday that the army had concluded that he was killed during the attack on the Nova music festival.
Shtivi’s death was first announced publicly Monday morning by the Hostage and Missing Families Forum. It was later confirmed by the IDF, which said the decision was made “based on intelligence information that was confirmed by a panel of experts from the Health Ministry.”
“The IDF operates with a range of methods to try and gather information on the hostages in Gaza,” the army said.
Shtivi was one of 251 people abducted on October 7 and is among 34 hostages killed on October 7 or while in captivity whose bodies are being held in Gaza, according to the IDF.
A total of 101 hostages and remains are currently thought captive, including two slain soldiers and two civilians held for around a decade.
Shtivi, 28, was a nature lover and photography enthusiast who was studying sustainability and government at Herzliya’s Reichman University.
He was seized by Hamas terrorists at the Nova desert rave, where he had volunteered to photograph the event.
He joined the party at 6 a.m., and called his girlfriend at 7, telling her about the missiles overhead and that he was leaving.
Shtivi left in his car with two friends, Lior and Yulia, but was blocked by the terrorists on the road heading north. He then turned the car around and started driving south, but was driven off the road, lost control of the vehicle and hit a tree.
He was last seen in that location, and the car was later found full of bullet holes and blood.
His friends’ bodies were found, but Shtivi was missing and later determined to have been taken hostage into Gaza.
Shtivi, a resident of Petah Tikva, is survived by his parents Eli and Dalit, siblings and his girlfriend Stav.
