Israel has held the funeral of 27-year-old Inbar Heyman, whose body was returned by Hamas on October 15, 2025 as part of the first stage of the agreement to end the war in the Gaza Strip. After earlier exchanges, she had remained the only female hostage still unreturned. Thousands attended the farewell ceremony; at the family’s request, many wore pink, the favorite color of the artist who worked under the name Pink.
Heyman arrived at the Nova music festival in the early hours of October 7, 2023 as a volunteer, planning to assist people who might feel unwell after taking psychedelics. When the Hamas attack began that morning, she and her friends first hid under the stage and then ran into the field. Along the way, Heyman helped another woman who was struggling to flee. According to witnesses, militants caught up with her, shot her, and took her to Gaza on a motorcycle. A video filmed that day later appeared online showing her being taken away unconscious.
Her family spent 71 days hoping she was alive. Only in December 2023 did the Israeli army officially confirm that she had been killed. Her relatives were unable to bury her during that entire period. In January, during an earlier deal, all of the remaining female hostages were returned from Gaza except Heyman.
Under the current agreement, Hamas was supposed to hand over all hostages, dead and alive, on October 13, 2025. That day, Israel received 20 living hostages and the bodies of seven of the 28 dead hostages. Two days later, the bodies of Inbar Heyman and Sergeant Muhammad al-Atrash were transferred. During the night of October 18, Israel also received the body of 75-year-old Eliyahu Margalit. According to the Israeli side, 18 bodies still remain in Gaza.
“It is hard to believe, my dear, that after two years you have finally come back to us,” Heyman’s mother, Ifat Heyman, said at the ceremony.
Her father, Haim Heyman, said parents should not have to bury their children, asked his daughter’s forgiveness for not being able to save her, and called for the return of all remaining bodies of the dead hostages. Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Deputy Prime Minister Yariv Levin attended the funeral.
Inbar Heyman was born on January 15, 1996 and lived in Haifa. She studied film and later visual communication at the Wizo Academic Center, worked in graffiti, poster design, and jewelry design, and her art was shown at exhibitions in different countries. Together with her partner, Noam Allon, she had planned to open an art studio and get married.