Gal Navon, 30: Computer programmer was a 'beacon of happiness'

Killed while trying to flee the Supernova music festival on October 7

Gal Navon, 30, from Ramat Gan, was murdered by Hamas while fleeing the Supernova music festival on October 7.

He attended the rave with his best friend, Joseph ‘Sefi’ Genis, who was also slain by Hamas as they tried to fight off the terrorists.

Alina Master hid in the same roadside bomb shelter as Gal and Sefi and was the only one to survive. She told the Kan public broadcaster that the pair entered with shrapnel wounds after a rocket hit their car.

Not long after, she said, they heard automatic gunfire outside, and they quickly understood that “the terrorists were going from shelter to shelter and shooting the people inside them.” When the terrorists entered their shelter, she said, “Sefi and Gal charged at them with bare hands and pushed them out of the shelter… and we heard the automatic gunfire and the shouts stopped, and we understood they were no longer alive.”

Gal is survived by his parents, Naama and Nir, and his sister Maya. He was buried on October 11 in Petah Tikva.

He served for more than five years in various positions in the Computer Service Directorate, including the development and maintenance of IDF logistics systems. Gal earned a computer science degree from the College of Management in Rishon Lezion and was working as a programmer at the Melio payment platform at the time of his death.

His boss at Melio, Or Frenkel, wrote on Facebook that Gal was “not only a colleague but also a true friend to everyone. He was a beacon of happiness and positivity, and his intelligence was exceptional… he had a talent for bringing out the best in everyone.”

His friend Gal Waitzman wrote online that “Navon always knew how to give everyone he was sitting with his full attention, and even more than that. When you speak to him there’s a feeling that he’s really interested in you, in every word and detail. When he tells a story he makes eye contact and makes you feel like you were really in the situation.

“He was the most sociable person there was, witty and chill (a deadly and super funny combination), smart and modest,” added Waitzman. “He always made sure that nothing interesting would happen when he wasn’t around — a man with FOMO. He always had a smile on his face, he was always optimistic and positive.”

“Gal and Sefi were both people who lived life,” Gal’s mother, Naama, told Kan. “They really took life by storm. It’s almost as if they knew it would end early.”

Marking 30 days since he was killed, Naama wrote on Facebook a tribute to “Gal, my life, my boy, my love.”

“How can I speak of you when it all sounds empty in the face of the light that you were in life,” she wrote. “So smart, so successful, so sensitive to everyone. Everyone who met you fell in love with you in seconds, there was so much joy for life in you it’s like you were life itself. All of your actions were inspiring.”

“You may no longer be here, but you are found between the beats of my heart,” she added. “I love you my Gal, my son, I thank you for the wonderful years you were here with us and made us happy and proud.”