Hostage Inbar Haiman, 27, murdered in Hamas captivity, officials say
The student from Haifa was taken from the Supernova festival on Oct. 7; the circumstances of her death have not been made public
The Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum announced Saturday evening that hostage Inbar Haiman, 27, had been murdered after being abducted by Palestinian terrorists during the Hamas-led October 7 attack on southern Israel.
Haiman, a visual communications student from Haifa, is survived by her parents and a brother. Her family was notified of her death by authorities, the Forum said.
The Forum did not say how or when Haiman was killed. Her body is believed to remain held by terrorists in the Strip.
Haiman has been taken from the Supernova desert rave, where terrorists massacred at least 360 of the partygoers and abducted dozens.
Haiman was volunteering at the festival, according to her boyfriend, Noam Alon.
She texted Alon about the Hamas onslaught, and he told her to avoid the roads, where gunmen were slaughtering the young party-goers, as they attempted to flee in cars and on foot.
When Alon and Haiman’s family later posted her details on social media, having lost touch with her, they included a description of her tattoos and what she was wearing. People got in touch, recognizing Haiman and the distinctive leggings she was wearing that day.
Eventually, the family heard from two people who had been with Haiman, telling them Haiman first hid under a stage with friends and then took cover under a bush.
They told the family that Haiman was found by a pair of Hamas terrorists armed with knives, who hauled her out and placed her on a motorbike.
Eventually, the family and Alon received a video posted by Hamas on Telegram, showing Haiman looking bloody and beaten, surrounded by four men.
Alon spoke to The Guardian in late October about his efforts to bring about his girlfriend’s release.
The news of Haiman’s death came a day after the military said it had recovered the bodies of two soldiers and one civilian hostage who were taken captive by Hamas on October 7.
The soldiers were named as Cpl. Nik Beizer, 19, and Sgt. Ron Sherman, 19. The civilian was identified as Elia Toledano, a 28-year-old French-Israeli citizen.
It is believed that 128 hostages remain in Gaza — not all of them alive — after 105 civilians were released from Hamas captivity during a weeklong truce in late November. Four hostages were released prior to that, and one was rescued by troops. The bodies of eight hostages have also been recovered and three hostages were mistakenly killed by the military on Friday.
The Israel Defense Forces has confirmed the deaths of 21 of those still held by Hamas, citing intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza.
Amid the rise in reports of hostage deaths and the military’s accidental killing of three, families of the hostages met Saturday to discuss stepping up protests against the government in a bid to increase pressure for renewed talks that could lead to a further release of captives.
“We are playing Russian roulette,” Ruby Chen, whose son Itay is being held hostage, told reporters in Tel Aviv outside the Defense Ministry. “We can’t go on like this any longer. Each day we don’t know when we will be the one to get a knock on the door.”
Raz Matalon, whose two relatives Yossi and Eli Sahrabi are hostages, called on the government to present fresh proposals for a deal with Hamas.
“They have to put forward an Israeli proposal. I’m looking leaders in the eyes, this is on you, stop it. Give us a proposal now.”
Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza was triggered by the Hamas terror onslaught on October 7, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists poured into Israel from the land, air and sea, launching the deadliest attack in Israel’s history.
The terrorists rampaged across more than 20 communities in southern Israel, killing more than 1,200 people and seizing some 240 hostages.
In response, Israel launched an aerial campaign and subsequent ground operation through which it has vowed to eliminate Hamas, ending the terror group’s 16-year rule in the Gaza Strip, and return all the hostages.
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza has claimed that more than 18,700 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war. However, the number cannot be independently verified and is believed to include some 7,000 Hamas and Hamas-affiliated terror operatives, as well as civilians killed by misfired Palestinian rockets.
