In response to a widely circulated speech by Guy Ben Shimon at the Parliamentary State Control Commission that about 50 Nova Festival participants who survived the Hamas massacre on October 7th committed suicide, the Ministry of Health has issued an official denial.
The Ministry of Health clarifies that data on the number of suicides and the number of hospitalizations among surviving participants of the Nova festival are unknown to the Ministry of Health and the mental health department under the Ministry of Health, and the figures announced at the meeting are incorrect.
The head of the department of mental health at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Gilad Bodenheimer, emphasized: “The rumors about the number of suicides and the number of hospitalizations among Nova festival survivors are incorrect, and this was stated both during the meeting and after its conclusion. Moreover, during the check with representatives Tribe of Nova and other informed sources have determined that this data is unknown.”
The official statement from the Ministry of Health emphasizes that the Ministry of Health is doing a lot to provide psychological and psychiatric care to survivors of the massacre at the Nova and PsyDuck festivals in parallel with Bituach Leumi and the Ministry of Social Welfare, as well as within the framework of a comprehensive government solution proposed by the Prime Minister’s Office.
The Ministry of Health encourages all Nova Festival survivors and those in need of assistance to contact the National Center for Mental Resilience and receive the necessary treatment according to their individual needs. The center is open from Sunday to Thursday from 8:00 to 20:00 by calling *5486.