Claims of Almost 50 Suicides After Nova Attack Under Scrutiny

At a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday, Guy Ben Shimon, a survivor of the Hamas-led massacre at the Nova Music Festival on October 7, testified that, as of two months ago, “almost 50” survivors of the attack had subsequently died by suicide.

Following his testimony, for a State Audit Commission hearing, several news outlets, current affairs websites, and blogs reported the figure as fact without confirming its accuracy. Many of these later walked back their initial reporting, changing their headlines to reflect a more accurate picture—saying only that a survivor of the massacre made this claim, without judging its accuracy. A few, such as Al Bawaba, VIN News, Israel National News’ Russian website, STMEGI News, Cursorinfo, Arab48, the Palestine News Network, and Pamela Geller, have left up headlines implying that the claim was an established fact.

The Media Line has since conducted its own investigation into Ben Shimon’s claim, reaching out to several government and health officials. To date, none have been able to confirm that the reported number of suicides was accurately reported. The Israeli Ministry of Health also indicated that it does not have any information or statistics to support the claim.

This is a developing story, and further investigation is underway to verify the accuracy of the reported suicides among the survivors of the October 7 massacre. The issue highlights the challenges of reporting in real-time on sensitive issues where the verification of facts is crucial. The Media Line continues to seek clarity on this matter from additional governmental sources and mental health professionals to provide an accurate update as more information becomes available.