"My little girl?": The harrowing correspondence of the father with his daughter – who was murdered at Nova
Aharon Shem-Tov left his home on the morning of October 7, 2023, in an attempt to save his daughter Einav, who was murdered at the Nova music festival. Their final correspondence, published three years after the massacre, reveals moments of terror: Einav begged her father not to risk his life, but as the hours passed, the messages became more desperate, until the last message she sent: "Until someone comes to save us, we will die."
On the morning of the Simchat Torah massacre, October 7, 2023, Aharon Shem-Tov left his home in a desperate attempt to reach his daughter Einav, who was hiding in a container with her friends at the Nova music festival. Their final correspondence, published three years after the massacre, reveals a heartbreaking dialogue: Einav asked her father not to risk his life, "Don't come near here, please don't come. We are already out of danger." She told him there were army and police at the scene, and promised to return home. As the terrorists approached, the fear grew: "Call the police, give them our location, save us, they keep coming." Aharon decided to set out and wrote: "I will come to take you from there. I am heading toward Ofakim." Einav replied in fear: "Don't be a hero, come with more forces, there are many Arabs here." Minutes before she stopped responding at 11:40 AM, she wrote: "My body is rotting and burning, I am scared and want to fly away from here already." Her last message: "Until someone comes to save us, we will die." Aharon continued to send desperate messages: "Where are you, my little girl? A broken father." Einav and Amit Levi were murdered; Shani Levi survived by hiding under their bodies.