October 7 survivor 'embarrassed' by pro-Palestine protests on massacre anniversary

Shir Sohar, 22, survived the horrific Hamas attacks by pretending to be dead for more than two hours after attending the Nova Music Festival.

The savage massacre saw as many as 1,200 Jewish people killed, including woman and children.

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Two years to the day later, the Israeli told LBC that she "felt bad" for students who had descended on British universities to protest Israel's ongoing assault on Gaza.

"I'm very embarrassed," Ms Sohar told Ian Dale. "People died. Kids died. How can you celebrate that? I don't get that. I feel bad for them, not for me."

Those attending protests have ignored calls from high-profile politicians to cancel action, including Sir Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch.

Sir Keir urged pro-Palestine students not to protest on the second anniversary of the October 7 attacks, saying the UK will “always stand tall” against those who wish harm and hatred upon Jewish communities.

Sir Keir described protests taking place at universities as “un-British”, claiming they show a lack of respect for others.

While Ms Badenoch told protestors they are “doing the wrong thing.”

Ms Sohar also reflected on the chaos of October 7, 2023. She had been partying with her friends until the early hours, but everything changed when she saw "missiles in the sky" and people running for their lives as Hamas began their attack.

"Me and my friends started driving straight home. In about five minutes we saw five terrorists wearing Hamas headbands.

"They were snipers, trying to shot at our heads. They missed us, which was a miracle. That was the moment I realised something big was happening."

After getting out of her friends car and running, Ms Sohar jumped into a stranger's vehicle, which would also shot at by terrorists.

The car then slid into a ditch. When Hamas came to check on the vehicle, Ms Sohar successfully played dead.

"From that second [when the car went into the ditch] my survival starts," she said.

"When I started to feel dead inside I said there was no way I am staying here. So after three and a half hours I got out."

Asked how her life has been since, Ms Sohar added: "Life has never been the same. The hate and terror is going to spread all over the world.

"We must be strong. We must be together. I think everything is changing and I hope the hostages will come back as soon as possible."

And when asked what she would say Palestinians, who have seen more than 67,000 of their people killed by Israel's military campaign since the October 7 attacks, she said: "I would tell them to not be afraid of Hamas. I would tell them to be strong and try to build something new without them. and try to fight them."