Selection of portraits of victims sent by families / Credits: DR.

International

Tribute to the victims of Hamas: portraits of the French killed in the attacks of October 7

Four months after the Hamas attacks on October 7 in Israel, France paid tribute to the 42 nationals killed during a ceremony organized at Les Invalides.

Le Parisien draws portraits of 22 of them, as well as those of the three hostages still held in Gaza.

Marianne Chenou, Enzo Guerini and Stanislas de Livonnière

Last update: 2024-02-07T12:01:49.868Z

Forty-two lives shattered by terrorism.

This Wednesday, February 7, France pays a national tribute to the 42 French victims of the attacks perpetrated by Hamas on October 7 in Israel, during a ceremony chaired by Emmanuel Macron at Les Invalides.

Le Parisien was able to identify 25 of the 42 victims.

With the agreement of their family, we wanted to put a name and a face to these French people, by telling their story, alongside the three hostages who still remain in captivity. 

As a reminder, eight French hostages were captured by Hamas during the attacks.

Four were released after almost eight weeks of captivity: Erez (12 years old) and Sahar Kalderon (16 years old) as well as Eitan Yahalomi (12 years old) found freedom on November 27.

Three days later, it was Mia Schem (21 years old) who was in turn able to find her family. 

The deaths of four other French nationals, a 17-year-old teenager, a 23-year-old young man and two 24-year-old young women, were confirmed to Le Parisien by their families.

They did not wish to speak publicly.

Killed on October 7

Céline Ben David Nagar

Dan Benhamou

Adar Ben Simon

Naomi Bikhar

Maya Bitton

Shiraz Brodach

Ruben Chicheportiche

Carmela Dan

Noya Dan

Valentin Ghnassia

Karin Journo

Hila Keilin

Ishtak Levy

Sigal Levy

Nathan Liard

Binyamin Loeb

Marc Pérez

Moria Switzerland

Avidan Tordjman

Nathaniel Young

Bar Zohar

Death in captivity

Eliya Toledano

Still hostages

Ofer Kalderon

Orión Hernández Radoux

Ohad Yahalomi

Killed on October 7

Céline Ben David Nagar

Age: 32 years old

Read also

Hamas attack in Israel: missing, Frenchwoman Céline Ben David Nagar has died

She was the mother of a little girl barely 6 months old who she was still breastfeeding.

Céline Ben David Nagar, born in Lyon (Rhône), disappeared on October 7 during attacks carried out by Hamas in southern Israel.

His body was identified among the victims of the “Tribe of Nova” festival ten days after his last sign of life.

She was reportedly less than a kilometer from the party venue, in her car, when the terrorists attacked.

Faced with the sirens ringing, she wrote the following message to her husband at 7:11 a.m.: “Don't worry, it's okay, the soldiers have arrived.

» His last sign of life addressed to his loved ones.

Her vehicle was quickly found, without any trace of the thirty-year-old.

Dan Benhamou

Age: 27 years old

Read also

Hamas attack in Israel: Dan, 27-year-old Franco-Israeli, killed during the assault on the “Tribe of Nova” festival

The young Franco-Israeli was killed during the “Tribe of Nova” festival, where more than 360 people lost their lives.

Born in Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône) like his brother and father, he moved to Israel with his family during his childhood.

“He was a good boy, he didn’t do the army, he didn’t care about the war,” one of his brothers told us.

Asaf, one of his best friends, describes a “lovely” boy.

“Muslims, Jews, Christians… he accepted everyone, whatever the faith, whatever the origin.

He lived for peace,” he told us a few minutes after Dan’s funeral, which took place on October 11 in Ra’anana, a town north of Tel Aviv.

Adar Ben Simon

Age: 20 years old

Adar Ben Simon was a soldier in the Israeli army.

She was killed during the Hamas assault on the Bahad 4 military base in Kibbutz Zikim, neighboring Gaza's northern border.

A leader at heart, she trained young soldiers who had just joined the regiment.

The last seconds of his life were spent protecting them.

“We are in a firefight.

My soldiers were injured,” she wrote in a final message sent to her older sister Sheaf on October 7 at 7:38 a.m.

“She was always spreading the light, reaching out to help everyone,” her sister tells us.

Giving, helping and loving others were his main values.

Adar laughed and smiled at everything.

She took everything lightly and was always positive and happy.

»

Adar's family, who have lived in Israel for two generations, traces its roots to Algeria, then under French occupation.

His grandfather had fought for France during World War II.

Naomi Bikhar

Age: 23 years old

This Franco-Israeli woman was killed during the “Tribe of Nova” festival.

She died alongside her future husband, Oz.

The young woman, a beautician, was from the Paris region.

“Our thoughts go to Naomie Bikhar, 23 years old, former student of Ozar Hatorah Créteil, tragically disappeared during the rave party,” wrote the Jewish school of Val-de-Marne on its Instagram account a few days after her death.

Those close to Naomie have multiplied the tributes on social networks.

“Happy birthday the angel of my life the days pass and the pain intensifies (…) I know that you are with Dad and Oz and that you are happy but my soul needs you, to have you near Me.

I miss your presence so much…” Livnat, her big sister, wrote on Facebook on October 19, the day Naomie would have been 24 years old.

Maya Bitton

Age: 23 years old

Maya Bitton was killed during the “Tribe of Nova” festival.

She was there with her companion and future husband Eliran Mizrachi.

After six years of relationship, he proposed to her in August.

The wedding date was set and Maya had already chosen her wedding dress.

Shir Zoertz, an Israeli artist, decided to pay tribute to him in song.

“I met Maya in a dance class when we were 8 years old.

I had just moved to the area with my family and was new to this class.

She was the first to come see me and integrate me into the rest of the group.

We became inseparable,” recalls the singer.

Today, the families of Maya and her boyfriend listen to the song with great emotion.

The clip has 115,000 views on YouTube.

Shiraz Brodach

Age: 23 years old

She had “an extraordinary personality”.

It is with these words that Chantal describes her great-niece, Shiraz Brodach.

This young Franco-Israeli woman was spending Shabbat with her in-laws in the south of Israel when her fiancé Avshalom, a reservist, was called up.

She then wanted to accompany him to his base a few kilometers away.

On the road, their vehicle was hit by an anti-tank missile, launched by Hamas men hiding in the ditches.

A renowned athlete, Shiraz had won numerous competitions in the country and worked as a sports coach, after completing his military service.

“When her mother was affected by cancer, she took over at home.

She helped a lot, she was the eldest of a family of three children,” says Chantal.

As comfortable “with young people as with older people”, she even learned French to communicate better with those close to her.

Ruben Chicheportiche

Age: 36 years old

A Franco-Israeli soldier, Ruben fell in combat on October 7, the IDF confirmed.

Father of four children, “he was born in France and emigrated at the age of 5,” his widow, Tsofia, explained to Le Parisien.

He was murdered alongside a fellow soldier, after leaving his home in a hurry during the attack, armed with a gun.

Faced with terrorists armed with automatic rifles, he was unable to defend himself, reports the Yeshuvnik newspaper.

Carmela Dan

Age: 80 years old

Read also

Civilians, soldiers, grandmothers and children: the terrible fate of French victims of Hamas in Israel

Carmela Dan was at her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz when Hamas launched its deadly attack.

The fate reserved for this octogenarian has long been uncertain.

In the days following October 7, her daughter, Galit Dan-Jaoui, lived in anguish and uncertainty.

“My mother told me by message that Hamas had broken into her house, that they were destroying everything, and that she was very afraid.

I haven’t heard anything since,” she told Le Parisien.

Carmela's body was identified two weeks after the attack.

Noya Dan

Age: 12 years old

Noya Dan was sleeping at his grandmother Carmela's house on the night of October 6 to 7.

Endowed with great sensitivity, according to those close to her, she was a fan of the Harry Potter saga.

A photo of the young girl, disguised like Hogwarts students and with a magic wand in her hands, caused emotion on social networks in the hours following the attack.

Her mother, Galit Dan-Jaoui, grew up on both sides of the Mediterranean, before settling in Israel where she gave birth to Noya.

“My father was French, my mother was married to him and all three of us lived in France,” she told us shortly after the attack.

Noya was born in Israel but is registered in my family record book and has French nationality.

»

Valentin Ghnassia

Age: 22 years old

Read also

“He died a hero”: the emotion of the sister of Valentin Ghnassia, Franco-Israeli soldier killed in a kibbutz

“It was sunshine.

» For Chloé, Valentin will always remain her “little brother”.

This Franco-Israeli soldier was killed by Hamas terrorists while he was intervening with his unit in Kibbutz Beeri on October 7.

He grew up in Montpellier (Hérault), a city in which he obtained a law degree and where his family still resides.

The student successfully participated in the university's moot court competition in 2019, finishing as a finalist.

He chose to join the Israeli army a year and a half ago.

“What motivated him was really the idea of ​​defending others on the pitch and that aspect of unity.

His goal was always to defend others,” his sister explained to Le Parisien.

Karin Journo

Age: 24 years old

Read also

“I put blood on my face”: a survivor of the Hamas attack returns to the festival grounds

His parents waited ten days before receiving the call they had been dreading so much.

Karin Journo was identified on October 17 among the victims of the “Tribe of Nova” festival.

His father Doron and his sister Meitav have been living in Israel for several years, but many members of their family are still in France.

Despite her foot in a cast, Karin Journo insisted on going to the festival.

On the day of the attack, the young woman who “just wanted to dance” sent a last text message to her parents at 8:43 a.m.: “I want to tell you that I love you, because I’m not coming home.

»

Hila Keilin

Age: 41 years old

Read also

“They massacred people in cold blood”: how Hamas turned a festival into horror

Hila Keilin fell under Hamas bullets at “Tribe of Nova”.

Born on October 5, she decided to go to the music festival to celebrate her 41st birthday two days later.

She lived in Mazkeret Batya, a town located halfway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

At the end of January, a fund was opened to help his family and in particular his four children, who were “his whole world”.

“Hila was a woman with infinite joy, even in difficult moments of life,” wrote those close to her in the description of the prize pool.

They describe a beautiful woman, “with blue eyes that penetrated everyone’s heart”, but also smiling, kind and generous.

Ishtak Levy

Age: 26 years old

“He loved peace,” cried Tsipora to the Parisian, bruised by the loss of her son Ishtak.

This young Franco-Israeli, who was studying to become a social worker, was killed by terrorists from the Islamist movement as he tried to flee the festival.

“He tried to leave the scene as quickly as possible with friends in the car but they were shot,” his mother tells us.

Ishtak was born in Safed, in the north of Israel, but both his parents were born in France, in Lyon and Paris.

Two cities where Ishtak lived to do part of his studies.

“It’s very, very hard for us, we’re still in shock,” confides Tsipora, very moved.

We love him and we always will.

»

Sigal Levy

Age: 31 years old

Sigal Levy was killed at the “Tribe of Nova” festival.

She was not there as a festival attendee, but as a volunteer for an association as part of her job as a social worker, where she came to the aid of young delinquents to help them reintegrate, her mother, Annie, explained to Le Parisien. .

“His entire short life was dedicated and dedicated to helping young people in distress,” she added.

Originally from Cherbourg (Manche), Annie emigrated after her baccalaureate in 1973 to Israel, where she gave birth to four children, including Sigal, the last of the Franco-Israeli siblings.

The 30-year-old was due to get married on January 18 and had just bought her wedding dress.

Her family chose to donate it to an association for women victims of domestic violence.

Nathan Liard

Age: 20 years old

Read also

Hamas attacks in Israel: Tamar, Shiri, Noa and Avinatan… These destinies shattered by terrorism

He too was an IDF soldier who died in combat.

Nathan Liard, who had just celebrated his 20th birthday, was killed by Hamas terrorists a few hours after their incursion into Israeli territory on October 7.

This Franco-Israeli was buried four days later, in the Netanya military cemetery, north of Tel Aviv.

“He is a child who fought terrorism with all his strength.

He was injured.

He asked the ambulance to stop to go fight again because he saw terrorists entering houses.

And for that, he lost his life.

He was exceptionally courageous,” Stéphane, a close relative of the family, testified to our colleagues at franceinfo during the funeral.

Binyamin Loeb

Age: 23 years old

Binyamin Loeb was a sergeant in the Israeli army.

His death, which occurred on October 8, was confirmed by the IDF.

This 23-year-old Franco-Israeli still had strong ties to France.

His father is particularly known to the Jewish community of Essonne, within which he serves as a rabbi.

“Yerres has lost one of its children,” quickly reacted the mayor (DVD) of the commune of Essonne, Olivier Clodong.

The young man's funeral took place on October 10, in the presence of the victim's father "who came from Paris", said an Israeli Labor MP who attended the funeral.

Marc Pérez

Age: 51 years old

Read also

The family of a Frenchman missing in Israel files a complaint in Paris against Hamas

He went to pick up his child, he never came back.

Marc Pérez had been warned by his daughter about the massacre taking place at the “Tribe of Nova” festival, so he rushed into his car to save her.

“I asked him not to do it, telling him that it was big, that he wouldn't find me, and reassuring him, telling him that I was going to come back (…) I didn't manage to do it. stop despite my pleas,” indicated Maya Pérez in her complaint which Le Parisien was able to consult.

“The Israeli army announced his death to the family” on October 12, confirmed Nathanaël Majster, lawyer for Marc Pérez’s relatives.

The same day, the family filed a complaint against Hamas for “crimes against humanity”.

The complaint denounces the “mode of operation of the massacres and kidnappings of civilians”, but also “the ideology which underlies these massacres”, accusing Hamas of “genocidal intent”.

Moria Switzerland

Age: 24 years old

Moria Suissa went to “Tribe of Nova” on October 7.

Missing for almost a week, her body was finally identified among the many victims of the festival.

The terrible news was announced by Tal, a friend of his, on Instagram on October 15.

“She was assassinated by Hamas,” he commented alongside a photo of the young woman.

“Moria was born in Israel, but his family was born in France,” the young man later explained to us.

In a video posted on social networks a few days after his disappearance, his mother asked for help from the French government: “My grandparents experienced the Shoah in France, and today Hamas is bringing the same horror to their rear. -little girl.

»

Avidan Tordjman

Age: 26 years old

Read also

“They shot everywhere”: the October 7 attack by Hamas recounted by the organizer of the Nova festival

He is one of the first French people whose death was made official.

Originally from Bordeaux (Gironde), Avidan was killed during the “Tribe of Nova” music festival.

He participated voluntarily to help friends he had met in India to set up the sets.

“He loved life, he was an inhabitant of the world,” his mother Monique told Le Parisien.

Avidan was “the link between France and Israel” in his family, his mother summarized.

The third child of six, he was born in France and emigrated at the age of 3 months, to a village between Ashkelon and Ashdod.

With a friend, he had created a house renovation company.

They then resold the goods, donating part of the profits to associations.

Nathaniel Young

Age: 20 years old

This young British-Israeli soldier also had French nationality, his family's lawyer, Nathanaël Majster, confirmed to Le Parisien.

Israeli army soldier, his death was confirmed by the IDF.

It occurred on October 7 in the attack by Hamas on a military building near the border with the Gaza Strip.

On the BBC, his big brother Eliot paid tribute to a young man “full of life”.

“He loved music and was a talented DJ.

(…) He was a bubbly boy and his four nieces loved playing with him,” he said.

Bar Zohar

Age: 23 years old

Read also

Hamas attacks: how Bar Zohar, Franco-Israeli woman killed at the Tribe of Nova festival, “saved three of her friends”

She tried to flee, but was hit by a bullet while driving a vehicle in which several of her friends were.

French through her mother born in Paris, Bar Zohar was to enter biomedicine school at the start of the next school year, after having traveled in South America for seven months, her sister Shany told Le Parisien.

“She was so intelligent, so brilliant and a perfectionist,” she added.

A fan of festivals, passionate about music and tattoos, she was present in Re'im during the attack on the “Tribe of Nova” site.

She was shot in the leg while trying to save her friends.

Evacuated to the festival medical station, Bar could not be taken care of by the emergency services, due to the attack on the premises by Hamas.

Death in captivity

Eliya Toledano

Age: 28 years old

Read also

“A real nice guy”: those close to Eliya Toledano mourn this 28-year-old Franco-Israeli, who died at the hands of Hamas

He has not given any sign of life since a message sent at 8:02 a.m. to a friend on October 7.

Eliya Toledano was a friend of Mia Schem, he was at the “Tribe of Nova” festival when Hamas launched its terrorist attack.

The fourth of five children, he had “a special place, he was always little to me,” Daniel, the eldest, told us.

Their mother, originally from Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin), studied dentistry in France, before emigrating to Israel when she married.

When Daniel is asked to describe his brother, one word comes to mind: “his smile”.

Passionate about music, Eliya worked in events, organizing weddings and bar mitzvahs in particular: “His daily life is to bring joy to people”.

Kidnapped in Nova, his body was found in Gaza and formally identified on December 14 by the Israeli authorities.

Still hostages

Ofer Kalderon

Age: 53

“We jumped out of the window, we hid in a bush.

» This is the last message received on Hadas' phone by Ofer, her ex-husband, who was standing alongside their two children, Erez and Sahar.

The eldest, Gaïa, was also born from their union.

Ofer, 53, is a carpenter.

“He uses wood to make tables and chairs,” explains Hadas, who prefers to dwell on his personality.

“He is a good father, loving and close to his children.

He transmits very good values ​​to them, particularly human values, she continues.

His passion is mountain biking in the mountains.

He passes it on to Erez and teaches him how to make it, when they are both together.

» The two children released on November 27 are still awaiting their father's return.

During the Hamas attack on Kibbutz Nir Oz, two other family members were killed: Carmela Dan, 80, and her granddaughter Noya, 13.

Orión Hernández Radoux

Age: 32 years old

Read also

“At every meal, there is an empty chair”: the unbearable anguish of the families of Israeli hostages

A two-year-old girl is waiting for her father, and with him a whole family.

Orión Hernández Radoux disappeared during the “Tribe of Nova” festival in southern Israel.

The presence of this Franco-Mexican was not planned.

“It was decided at the last moment, he left with a friend,” explains his mother, Marie-Pascale.

Her friend is the German Shani Louk, kidnapped by Hamas and then found dead on October 30.

The last time he spoke to his mother, on October 3, Orión was in Greece, working on his own music festival.

“He had to rest,” he told me.

And finally they decided to leave.

» During the Hamas attack, Orión managed to flee with an Israeli friend in a car.

“We don’t know how, but we know they were separated.

His friend was found dead three days later, and he was taken to Gaza,” explains Marie-Pascale.

Since then, the French and Mexican relatives of the thirty-year-old have had no further news.

Calling his phone a few hours after the attack, a voice on the line said, “Arabic, Arabic!”

Hamas, Hamas.”

An Arabic-speaking friend of Orión then tried to call back.

“We told him that Orión was alive, that he was not being mistreated and that we should not worry,” his mother summarizes.

But each day that passes increases the uncertainty for his family.

Ohad Yahalomi

Age: 49 years old

Read also

French Hamas hostages: for the families of Orión, Ofer and Ohad, anguish and hope intertwine

Ohad was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz, along with his 12-year-old son, Eitan.

Aged 49, this educator devotes the majority of his time “to transmitting good values” to the young people of the kibbutz, confides Tse'ela, one of his cousins.

During the Hamas attack, the other members of Eitan's family managed to flee.

Ohad tried to face the attackers and protect his family, according to the account of his wife Bat Sheva.

In vain.

“The last thing the family saw was Ohad being shot in front of the house.

Since then, nothing more,” says Tse’ela, her throat tight.

Tears even end up taking over when she talks about “an adorable cousin” whom she “loved all her life”.

Eitan was released on November 27, but his father's fate remains unknown.

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Writing

Marianne Chenou and Enzo Guerini

Development

Thomas Lecomte

Editing

Stanislas de Livonnière