Guy Illouz, 26: Soundman for Hayehudim with ‘a huge heart’

Guy Illouz, 26, from Ra’anana, was wounded and kidnapped by Hamas terrorists while trying to flee the Supernova music festival on October 7.

According to accounts from hostages freed during a temporary truce with Hamas in late November, Illouz succumbed to his wounds in a Gaza hospital, apparently due to lack of medical treatment. His death was confirmed in December 2023.

Released hostage Maya Regev later told his family that she had been hospitalized next to Guy for two days and watched him take his last breaths before his body was placed in a bag. His date of death is believed to be October 14, 2023.

Guy’s body was returned to Israel by Hamas as part of a ceasefire deal in October 2025.

He was buried on October 15, 2025, in Ra’anana. He is survived by his parents, Doris and Michel.

His friend Alon Werber was slain alongside him, and another friend, Almog Sarusi, was kidnapped and murdered in captivity in August 2024.

Guy was born in raised in Ra’anana, and fled a strong connection to music from a young age. After his army service, he started to work in the industry, getting to know the ropes from insiders.

A soundman, Guy worked with Israeli musicians including Matti Caspi, Shalom Hanoch and rock band Hayehudim. He played the guitar from a young age and studied philosophy and psychology.

“He was a person with a huge heart, who really just wanted the best for people, for them to be happy and have fun. I really don’t even know how to eulogize someone like that,” his friend, Guy Videyah, told the Kan public broadcaster.

Among a series of videos from Israeli musicians who worked with Guy, Kan aired an undated clip from Orit Shachaf of the rock band Hayehudim, who called him a “promising young musician.”

The mayor of Ra’anana, the city where Guy was born and raised, remembered him as, “a loving man, happy and full of laughter.”

“Music followed Guy his whole life and until his death,” Raanana Mayor Chaim Broyde wrote in a Facebook post. “Guy was partying with hundreds of other innocents at the party near Kibbutz Re’im and was taken captive by cruel murderers. For the past long weeks we hope and prayed for Guy’s return — but today we found out that he will never return.”

Guy’s friend, Abraham, wrote online about their close friendship, which “mostly involved being in nature and talking about music. Guy believed that music builds connections and can increase the good we see in the world. He loved his dog, George.”

“When I think about Guy, I think about the music we listened to and played together,” Abraham added. “I think about the songs he wrote that I will never get to hear. I remember that he always chose joy over sadness, being with friends and talking about hard things with a smile.”

At his funeral in October 2025, Guy’s father, Michel, said “My Guychuk, I love you so, so much… I will miss you every second, every minute of my life. Rest now, my sweet boy, rest after two years of journeying through worlds unknown to us.”

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