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The body of Idan Shtivi, a 28-year-old Israeli and Portuguese citizen, was recovered in Gaza by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). He was killed in the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, during the SuperNova music festival in the Negev desert. At the time, Shtivi helped people escape the assault before being murdered and his body taken to Gaza.
Confirmation of his death only came in October 2024, when the IDF announced that the young man had been among the victims of the Hamas offensive. His body was found together with the remains of Ilan Weiss, 56, a resident of Kibbutz Be’eri. Weiss’s wife and daughter had also been kidnapped in the same attack but were released alive in November 2023.
FAMILY EFFORTS
In 2023, before confirmation of her son’s death, Idan’s mother traveled to Portugal seeking diplomatic support for his release. In May 2025, his father, alongside relatives of other hostages, was received by the Embassy of Israel in Portugal and by the Portuguese Parliament.
Shtivi, an environmental sciences student, is survived by his parents, three siblings, and his girlfriend, whom he called during the attack.
FAMILY ROOTS
Idan descended from Sephardic families of Bulgarian origin, with surnames linked to ancient Jewish communities in Bulgaria, Thessaloniki, Izmir, Morocco, Tunisia, Hamburg, and Livorno, among other places.
MESSAGES OF CONDOLENCE
Oren Rozenblat, Israel’s ambassador to Portugal, declared: “In a complex military operation, Israel managed to recover the body of Idan Shtivi, a Portuguese-Israeli citizen who was kidnapped from the Nova festival on October 7, 2023, by barbaric Palestinian terrorists.
Idan was a sustainability student who loved nature, photography, and animals. Idan Shtivi’s family visited Portugal several times to fight for his return. May his memory be blessed. There are still 48 hostages in the hands of Hamas. Israel will not stop until all the hostages return to Israel.”
In turn, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, President of the Portuguese Republic, sent his condolences to the Shtivi family through an official note: “The President of the Republic expresses his deep sorrow at the moment of the delivery of the body to the family of the Portuguese-Israeli citizen Idan Shtivi, hostage of the terrorist group Hamas, who died in captivity. He extends his condolences to the family, to the Israeli people, and to Israel.”
