May Hayat, a 32-year-old bartender, survived the Hamas attack on the Nova Music Festival in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, and brought her harrowing story to London as part of an immersive exhibition documenting the atrocities. Speaking at the Nova Exhibition in London, May described how she was captured by eight terrorists, watched her friend Avi Dadon stabbed to death, and was eventually released due to a childhood scar.
Attack at dawn
May and her best friend Liron Barda had just finished a night shift at the festival bar when Hamas launched a barrage of rockets at 6:30am, covering a ground invasion. Militants breached the border fence and arrived at the festival via paragliders. May recalled: 'We suddenly saw people running, but the music was still playing. We didn’t understand what was happening until we saw the rockets in the sky.' The event was quickly shut down, but many were already trapped.
At 7am, May received a call from a friend trying to flee: 'She yelled, “May, I see terrorists, I see dead bodies, I see blood. I need help.”' Some partygoers who encountered Hamas on the roads returned with gunshot wounds. While Liron helped the injured, May texted her family goodbye. She hid in a police command post with 50 others before an officer told them: 'You need to pray as hard as you can and run for your lives.'
Escape and capture
May ran as bullets whistled past. She hid in an ambulance in an open field with dozens of others, but an inner voice told her it was a 'death trap'. Moments after she got out, Hamas fighters fired an RPG at the ambulance, killing 18 festivalgoers. She then met Avi Dadon, and they were driven across fields by another man. 'When we got to the road, I saw a lot of dead bodies, burnt bodies, body parts, burnt cars and smoke all over,' May said. The terrorists shot at the car, forcing a U-turn back to the fields.
May and Avi hid in a hole for 15 minutes until Hamas fighters dragged them out. 'They pulled me out first. When I opened my eyes I found myself surrounded by eight terrorists in civilian clothes, with knives, hammers and wooden bats. One of them was a 14-year-old child,' she recounted. Avi was on his knees begging and offering money. 'When I saw their reaction, I realised that is what they were looking for. They wanted us to be afraid. So I told myself I had to be strong.'
Scar saves her life
When a terrorist grabbed May’s hand, they noticed a childhood scar on her arm covered by a tattoo. According to May, 'According to their beliefs, a scar like this means a strong woman. If something happened to her because of them, the 72 virgins they are promised will not come looking for them in heaven.' The fighters pulled away but said they were taking her hostage. After walking for two hours, they came across two dead women. There, May saw 'three of the terrorists grab his hands, as one of them stabbed his neck' – killing Avi instantly. May was dragged toward Gaza, but the car they intended to take did not start. The ringleader eventually let her go, and she hid under a stage until rescued by the army.
Exhibition in London
May’s friend Liron was among the 378 people massacred at the festival, while 44 were taken hostage. The Nova Exhibition in London is the 10th city to host the immersive experience, featuring burned-out cars, shot-through toilet cubicles, and a table of shoes from those who fled. It has been visited by London Mayor Sadiq Khan and the Archbishop of Canterbury. The exhibition closed on July 15 after being extended due to high demand.
May said: 'London is the place where most visitors did not know what happened to us. We need to commemorate this day and our friends, who cannot share their stories.' Ofir Amir, 42, co-founder of the Nova Festival and exhibition organizer, fled the attack with bullet wounds in both legs. He said: 'Our lives changed on October 7th. We felt we had to do something so no one will deal with this trauma alone.' The exhibition aims to fight denial and antisemitism, which has risen in the UK, including a stabbing in Golders Green in April. May added: 'We are people of light. Light always beats darkness.'
