A Hamas militant (Image: Yousef Masoud/SOPA/Zuma Pres)
HIS courageous actions came to mark the spirit of hundreds of brave Israelis who faced the horror of sudden slaughter on October 7.
Now, the mother of Aner Shapiro, who tossed back seven hand grenades from the shelter where he and 20 others took refuge from Hamas gunmen, has paid tribute to his heroism.
“Survivors told us what he did. He died just like he lived – putting others first,” said British-born Shira Shapiro last night, from her home in Jerusalem.
More than 600 young revellers had gathered near the Gaza border for the Nova music festival, seizing a chance to celebrate the last of summer to the sounds of some of Europe’s best DJs before beginning the new academic year
Held on the religious holiday of Simchat Torah, most turned up to the remote site next to the Gaza border late at night, after they had completed family meals across .
A night of happiness and dance would soon turn to tragedy, however, when their morning sky filled with rockets.
The events of that day are told in chilling detail in a new documentary ‘Surviving October 7th’ which has gathered accounts from survivors in a chilling retelling of that fateful day.
By 7.30am, hundreds of Hamas terrorists had broken through the 40-mile border fence using tractors and had stumbled upon the Nova site.
“We saw a man dressed in black running. In the background there was automatic firing, and he was screaming: ‘ either you run now and survive, or you stay here and it’s over for you’,” recalled Noam, 27.
Revellers who had attempted to flee by car found themselves cut off from escape and became easy targets for Jihadists with automatic weapons.
Others tried to hide in temporary toilets only for their refuge to be sprayed by bullets, and those who ran fared little better, picked off one-by-one in the panic.
Aner Shapiro had arrived with three friends. An officer with the elite Orev unit of the Nahal infantry brigade, he was enjoying a few days leave and had just celebrated his sister’s 21st birthday at home.
It wasn’t long before he and his friends found themselves ducking into a Migunit bomb shelter on the side of the infamous route 232, which would soon turn red with the blood of 250 festival-goers trying to make their desperate escape.
Finding the shelter full of terrified partygoers, Aner took charge.
“Hi everyone. I am Aner Shapiro, I serve in the Nahal brigade. My friends from the army are coming soon. I am going to take care of things here, so don’t worry“, he reassured them.
Eventually, the moment they all dreaded arrived and two pick-up trucks full of Hamas terrorists stopped outside the shelter.
Knowing that the shelter had no doors, Aner at once guessed that Hamas would begin to throw grenades to kill them all or flush them out into the open.
Though a very fast runner who could have fled, he stayed behind.
“I’ll catch the grenades and throw them back – and if I miss any, you throw them back,” he said.
The grenades came, one after another. Aner deftly scooped up each one which landed and threw it back with all his strength.
“Every time they threw a grenade, he grabbed it and tossed it out,” recalled Eitan, 28.
“He acted like a commander. He took all the responsibility on himself. He was focussed.”
Eventually, Hamas threw a grenade which detonated inside the shelter.
“There was a really big explosion, and I flew back. When I finally got up I remember Aner wasn’t standing anymore”.
Aren with his mother, Shira, and fattier Moshe in happier times (Image: Shira Shapiro )
The festival site, which has now become a garden of remembrance (Image: Marco Giannangeli)
Because her religion forbids the use of phones on the Sabbath, Aner’s mother still had no idea about the scale of the attacks.
It was only days later when survivors told Shira of the heroic role played by her son.
“On Monday we had the first phone call from one of the survivors. She said he was hero adding: ‘I owe my life to him.’ but she didn’t mention the grenades.”
On Tuesday, the father of another survivor, who was undergoing surgery, called and the whole story was revealed.
Shira, 49, says that feeling anger at the way her eldest child sacrificed his life would be to not understand his character.
“Aren took responsibility even though he was not responsible for those people. But this is the way he was,” she said.
“He died like he lived, believing that people should help each other and be the best versions of themselves.”
The is no moral grey in he events that unfolded on that October day.
“It was evil versus good. They went to love and to dance and they were murdered. The world can never be allowed to forget.”
Asked how she is coping she said: “I don’t understand this concept of closure. I am learning how to live with this hole in my life. I am learning to be mother of six, and I have to be happy for my other children.
“So far, we are doing okay. We are pulling through but we will never stop remembering Aner and carrying on his legacy. “
‘Surviving October 7th: We Will Dance Again’ 2 Thursday 9pm