Parents Grieve Heartbreakingly as they Bid Farewell to Brit, 30, Brutally Murdered by Hamas in Israel’s Nova Festival Massacre

The anguished parents of a British man killed by Hamas on Saturday at a music festival in Israel have said their final goodbyes.

Dor Shafir and his fiancée Savion Hen Kiper, both 30, were attending the Nova music festival near Re’im, a kibbutz in southern Israel near the border with Gaza, when Hamas terrorists flew over the fence using paragliders.

They landed and began shooting indiscriminately into the crowd, forcing the hundreds of participants to scatter in terror. Around 270 people were killed.

Dor’s parents – father Itzik and mother Miriam – attended their son’s funeral on Wednesday, supported by other family members who tried to comfort them.

They were photographed crying uncontrollably as Dor’s body was carried to a cemetery in Modiin Maccabim, in a tragic scene that will be all too common as Israelis bury the more than 1,300 people killed by the Hamas gunmen.

Dor Shafir and her fiancé Savion Hen Kiper, both 30, were attending the Nova music festival near Re’im, a kibbutz in southern Israel near the border with Gaza, when Hamas terrorists flew over the fence using paragliders. Pictured: Dor’s parents Wednesday

Dor was last heard from early Saturday morning, as the attack unfolded.

Around 7 a.m., he texted his family to say that he and Savion had managed to escape the initial massacre and find shelter.

But the Shafir family told Good Morning Britain that Savion was later found dead, murdered by the terrorists who then took hostages and fled to Gaza.

Speaking to GMB on Monday, Miriam said at the time that Dor was missing and she was “praying” he would be found alive.

However, his death was also later confirmed, with Miriam posting a message on Facebook on Wednesday in Hebrew, translated into English, saying that her son had been killed. “The Shafir family announces with great sadness the murder of their son Dor,” she wrote.

Speaking on Monday, before learning of her son’s fate, Miriam said: “We know from someone who saw them at the party that when they heard the first rockets, my son and his girlfriend were the first to run to their cars and leave.

“In a few minutes, everyone fled. They ran into the forest or got in their car and started driving everywhere. Some of them were greeted by Hamas terrorists.

“Some people were shot, others were taken hostage.

“There were hundreds, hundreds of young people killed. We don’t even know who they are or where they are.

Ms Shafir, whose parents are from Reading and Dublin, urged the British government to get involved in efforts to trace British citizens in Israel.

She added: “We are citizens, they should help put an end to this war crime. There are hundreds of innocent people, women, children, young people, who are hostages in Gaza.

Following the news of his death, friends posted tributes to Dor on social media.

“When someone dies, their instinct is to exaggerate their good qualities and neglect their bad ones,” wrote Nate Nelson.

“But I really can’t remember a single time when Dor Shafir was anything other than kind, patient, funny, deeply caring and completely non-judgmental towards anyone.”

Another person, Anat Eylam, described Dor and his fiancée as “a young couple with a whole life ahead of them.” She added: “Today, unfortunately, we learned that they were both murdered by the damned Hamas terrorists.”

She said “they just wanted to dance and rejoice” at the festival in peace.

News of the death of Mr. Shafir, reported by The temperaturecame as British authorities announced on Wednesday that 17 British nationals were dead or missing in Israel.

Miryam Shafir, 55, with her son Dor Shafir and his fiancée, Savion Hen Kiper, at a bowling alley

Dor Shafir (left) is pictured hiking with his father, Itzik (right)

Festival-goers at the nature festival near Re’im, southern Israel, near the border with Gaza

Among them is Nathaniel Young, 20, who was fulfilling his childhood dream of serving in the Israeli army when he was killed in the unexpected Hamas attack. His funeral in Jerusalem was interrupted by air raid sirens and loud bangs.

The former student at the JFS Jewish school in Kenton, north London, lived in the house of lone soldier Bayit Shel Benji in Raanana, according to the Jewish News.

Mr Young’s family said in a statement that he was “full of life and the life of the party”. They added: “He loved his family and friends and was loved by everyone. He loved music and was a talented DJ.

“Always ready to do anything for his loved ones – an extraordinary uncle and brother. He was so happy and prosperous in Israel. He loved the country.

Another Briton killed by the terrorists was Glaswegian Bernard Cowen, 57, who lived in Israel with his wife and two children. He was identified Sunday by family members as having been “murdered in cold blood at his home” by Hamas terrorists.

Jake Marlowe, 26, was also among those who died. He was initially reported missing, but his death was confirmed by the Israeli embassy in London.

Mr. Marlowe was providing security at the Nova music festival.

His mother told the Jewish News on Sunday that the last message she received from her son was telling her that he loved her.

She said: ‘He was providing security at this rave yesterday and called me at 4.30am to tell me all these rockets were flying overhead.’

Corporal Nathanel Young, 20, from London, was a soldier with the 13th Battalion who lived in Tel Aviv and was killed by Hamas.

Bernard Cohen (aka Cowan), a Glaswegian, killed on Saturday in Israel by Hamas

“Then, around 5:30 a.m., he texted to say, ‘very bad signal, everything is fine, I’ll keep you posted, I promise,’ and that he loves me.”

Another British victim, photographer Dan Darlington, is also believed to have died after a relative of his German girlfriend Carolin Bohl – also missing – was informed by a man working on a kibbutz that the bodies of the two men had been identified.

The couple was last heard from while hiding in a bunker in Nir Or, a kibbutz in southern Israel, according to Carolin Bohl’s brother-in-law, Sam Pasquesi.

Heartbreaking photographs on Instagram show the couple laughing together shortly before they disappeared during the deadly attack on Israel.