Shahar Manzur, 28: Electrician had plans to propose to girlfriend

Shahar Manzur, 28, from Shoham, was murdered by Hamas terrorists while fleeing the Supernova music festival on October 7.

Shahar attended the rave with his girlfriend, Sharon Refai, and another friend, Oriya Ricardo. When the rocket fire started, the three left for their car and had reached the Mefalsim junction when Shahar was shot by terrorists lying in wait, and the car flipped.

Sharon told her family that Shahar had been killed by the gunfire, and she and Oriya were trying to hide, but the two women were later murdered by Hamas, as was Sharon’s brother, Eli, who had come to try and save them and was also shot dead.

Shahar was buried on October 11 in Hadid, two weeks before his 29th birthday. He is survived by his parents, Hanita and Yehuda, and his three sisters, Amit, Gal and Tamar.

Raised in Shoham, he enlisted first in the Golani Brigade during his mandatory IDF service, before moving to a role in the Technological and Logistics Directorate, according to a state eulogy. After his release from the army, Shahar worked for a period at a restaurant before traveling to the US, where he worked in real estate.

After a year, he returned to Israel and decided to study to become an electrician, joining his father in the family business.

Sharon and Shahar met in 2023 and quickly became a couple, moving in together in Ramat Gan not long before they were murdered. Her older sister, Livnat, told Ynet that “the day she met Shahar she knew he was the one for her. She introduced him to the family as ‘my future husband,’ and we were so happy for her.”

Shahar’s family said that he told them a week before he was killed that he planned to propose to Sharon at some point in 2024. Sharon, they said, had already saved Shahar’s mother’s phone number as “my future mother-in-law.”

His sister, Tamar, wrote on Instagram six months after he was murdered that she was “still waiting for you.”

“Still waiting for you to show up on Friday night for kiddush, waiting to curl up on the couch with you, waiting to feel you again, waiting for my big brother to come back to me already,” she wrote.

“I miss you so much Shaharoni. The more time passes, the harder it gets. Every moment of the day I think of you, miss you and do everything I can so you would be proud of me,” added Tamar. “But I still keep waiting. For your hug, which was the strongest in the world. For the wedding of you and Sharon. For you getting annoyed at me for bugging you about eating healthy and quitting smoking. For our car rides at full volume. I’ll keep waiting for all these moments.”

Writing on Facebook in June, his mother, Hanita, spoke of “eight months of endless longing.”

“A huge hole in my heart that only grows bigger. I dreamed that we’d do so many more things together, and without any warning one morning you just disappeared,” she wrote. “Our daily life looks different, holidays and Shabbats no longer have your vibe, with joy and endless energy.”

“You are in my heart every second, if only it could be different,” Hanita added. “Rest in peace and keep sending me little signs — I love you and miss you with all my heart.”

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