"These are moments of joy amid the darkness," Haim Haiman said after learning that the terrorist who commanded the abduction of his daughter, Inbar, on October 7 had been killed.
Speaking to ynet on Tuesday, Haiman said: "The officer assigned to our case called me to let me know. This news is a kind of comfort, a sense of closure that justice has been done. It isn't the first terrorist to be killed, but this one is significant."
Inbar Haiman
(Photo: Courtesy of the family)
Inbar Haiman attended the Nova music festival as a volunteer providing support to people experiencing distress after using psychedelic drugs. On the morning of October 7, she fled the area and was murdered by terrorists while hiding in orchards. Her body was taken into Gaza and held there for nearly two years.
"Anyone who says time heals is completely wrong," her father said. "Time only creates more longing and things become harder. The mind goes through a process and the longing grows stronger."
He described his daughter's escape and abduction: "She hid under the stage, but terrorists reached the area and she fled with two young men she didn't know. They made it to the orchards between the festival site and Kibbutz Re'im, about two kilometers from the festival. They spent hours fleeing and hiding along the way. They reached avocado groves and climbed over a fence, but two terrorists were following them. The two young men managed to escape, but Inbar was caught.
"Unfortunately, there was a main route running through the orchards that was being used by large numbers of Nukhba terrorists. She was essentially surrounded by dozens of terrorists. There is testimony that they told her, 'Get on the motorcycle,' and when she tried to resist, they murdered her. That's what we know."
Haiman also described his feelings after learning of the terrorist's killing and thanked Israeli troops operating in Gaza.
"It's important that this work continue," he said. "The IDF is doing an outstanding job, as are the Shin Bet personnel. It sends a message to those cursed terrorists that they are living on borrowed time."
Over the weekend, the IDF said it killed Taher Ahmad Salem Abd al-Wahed, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist who took part in the October 7 attack on the Nova music festival and commanded Inbar Haiman's abduction.
Following the announcement, Inbar's aunt, Hana Cohen, said: "We found out last night. I didn't sleep all night. It's incredibly difficult and overwhelming. It brings everything back. Justice has been done, slowly but surely. There is some measure of comfort in that. No one will bring Inbar back. Inbar is no longer here. When I see his face, it fills me with revulsion. I can only think about how she reacted when she saw those faces. It's horrifying. It takes us back and reopens the wound every single time."