- Bar Asraf, a 30-year-old survivor of the October 7 massacre, died by suicide at the grave of his girlfriend Liron Barda, who was murdered by Hamas during the attack on the Nova music festival.
- Asraf was found with a gunshot wound to the chest at the cemetery in Elkana, and despite emergency medical teams being called, he was pronounced dead.
- On the day of the massacre, Barda, who was 26 and worked as a bartender, stayed behind to administer first aid to the wounded even as her friends and family begged her to flee.
- Asraf's sister, Lihi, found him dead beside Barda's grave, stating he had a gun lying next to him and was covered in blood.
- Barda was killed during the Hamas attack on the Nova music festival, which resulted in the deaths of 378 innocent people.
- Asraf reportedly struggled to cope with Barda's absence, expressing to his mother that he missed her and felt sad without her.
- His sister mentioned that he had a tattoo of Barda and considered her a part of his soul.
Bar Asraf, 30, was found dead at the grave of his girlfriend, Liron Barda, who was murdered during the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas at the Nova music festival. His family reported that he had been struggling with her absence since her death nearly three years ago.128
Barda, 26, was a bartender at the festival and chose to stay behind to help the wounded during the attack, despite pleas from her family to flee. “I spoke to her that morning, I asked her to leave the area — she refused,” her father, Avi, recounted. “This was Liron — I would have been surprised if she agreed to flee.”
Asraf's sister, Lihi, revealed that he often visited Barda's grave, saying, “He loved talking there and being with her.” Tragically, he went missing during a family wedding, prompting his relatives to search for him at the cemetery, where they found him with a gunshot wound to the chest.34
His mother, Bracha, expressed her concern for her son, stating, “I saw him looking sad... He said, 'Mom, I'm sad. It's hard for me without Liron.'” Friends noted that Barda's death left Asraf feeling lonely, and he had been coping well until a moment of despair struck him at the wedding.
The grief from Barda's murder, part of a larger tragedy where 378 people were killed at the festival, ultimately consumed Asraf, leading to his heartbreaking decision.
French-Jewish activist Jérémy Benhaïm shared Asraf's final message, stating, “I’m truly sorry. I can’t bear this pain any longer.”
“Barda, 26, was the festival's bar manager and stayed to treat the wounded on Oct. 7, 2023, refusing her family's pleas to flee. His sister Lihi found him beside the grave, covered in blood with a gun nearby, and recalled: "He has a tattoo of her; she was a part of his soul."”
