ZIV HAGBI
1994 - October 7, 2023 | Age: 29
“He would always say that any new person he met was first of all a king, unless proven otherwise.”
About Ziv
Ziv Hagbi was born and raised in Kibbutz Gevim, near Sderot, and grew into a young man whose warmth, humor, and quiet confidence drew people toward him. Friends remember an amazing vibe about him, the kind of presence that sparked interest, affection, and smiles wherever he went.
He loved life openly. He loved sports and Hapoel Tel Aviv, dancing at music festivals, travel, and long conversations that could turn from laughter to depth in an instant. He carried a keen sense of humor and an optimism that felt steady rather than naive, as if he truly believed things could be worked out.
Ziv was curious about the world and about people. In recent years he lived in Jaffa, devoting himself to studying Arabic, especially the Egyptian dialect, until he became fluent. He was preparing to begin a degree in Middle Eastern studies and international relations at Tel Aviv University just weeks after he was killed.
He is survived by his parents, Reut and Pesach, and his younger brother, Guy. He was buried in Gevim on October 16, 2023.
A Life of Curiosity, Kindness and Purpose
Learning, service, and the road he chose
After school in Sderot, Ziv spent a year of national service in a dormitory for at-risk youth who had previously been in hospital or rehabilitation. It was work that suited him: patient, grounded, and deeply human.
He then enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces and served in the Paratroopers Brigade’s reconnaissance unit. When he was discharged, he worked for a year in the fishery at Kibbutz Ma’agan Michael before setting off on ten months of travel across Asia.
Language became one of the great projects of his life. His friend Maya Baitner, whom he met through a shared love of Arabic, recalled sitting with him on the beach in Jaffa only two weeks before October 7, laughing and talking about life. She remembered his excitement and curiosity for the language, his wide knowledge, and the way he always knew how to find the word she had forgotten.
His father, Pesach, said it bothered Ziv that he had served in an elite unit yet did not know Arabic. So he decided to learn, and in his final years he devoted himself to it with real seriousness, turning curiosity into fluency and purpose.
The Nova Festival
On the night of October 6, 2023, Ziv arrived at the Supernova music festival with friends who, like him, had waited for the gathering with excitement. The Nova Tribe festival drew people from across Israel, from kibbutzim and cities alike, united by music, movement, and the simple joy of being together in the open air.
Ziv came with Amit Bar, her partner Nir Jorno, and others who had traveled from Matzliah, roughly sixty miles away. They were devoted fans of electronic music and had looked forward to the event as a celebration they had been anticipating for a long time.
For Ziv, festivals were not only entertainment. They were part of how he lived: fully present, open to connection, at home in the crowd and in the music. That morning was meant to be another chapter in a life already rich with travel, study, friendship, and wonder.
The Morning of October 7
When rocket fire began, Ziv and his friends decided to leave the festival by car, intending to head toward his family home in Gevim, near Sderot, where they hoped to find safety.
As they drove, they realised that vehicles on the roads were coming under fire. The group got out of the car and ran back toward the festival grounds. In the chaos, they were separated. Ziv was last seen hiding in the bushes between the parking lot and nearby Kibbutz Re’im.
Amit and Nir took cover beneath a bush, faces pressed to the sand, unable to lift their heads. They could see Ziv roughly sixty feet away. They wanted to call out to him but feared giving away their position. After some hours, they heard his voice. They believe he tried to escape with an Israeli woman in a car.
Ziv was considered missing for more than a week before his body was identified. He was murdered by Hamas terrorists while trying to flee the massacre at Nova.
The loss of that morning cannot be separated from the life that came before it: a life of kindness, curiosity, and quiet courage. Ziv did not reach the university classroom he had prepared for, but the seriousness with which he pursued understanding, and the gentleness with which he treated others, remain part of what those who loved him carry forward.
His spirit
Helping Others Until the End
Ziv’s younger brother, Guy, wrote that anything he could say would only minimise who Ziv was. His brother, he said, was always calm, always helping, always there. There are people who always know what to say, Guy wrote, but Ziv always knew what to do.
People remember what you made them feel, Guy continued, and that was Ziv: he made everyone feel as though they were the best, number one, that he was with them until the end. He wanted his brother’s optimism, his motivation, his calm, his smile, his way of enjoying life. He wanted to hear him say again, “What are you worried about, bro? You’ll figure it out.”
Pesach Hagbi remembers a son who loved people and always had a smile on his face. He would always say, “It’ll be OK.” He loved life, traveled, and enjoyed every moment he could. Even after loss, his father returns to the Nova memorial site to honor Ziv and to accompany others who find it hard to come alone.
A relative’s eulogy echoed what many who knew him felt: “We will remember you laughing. We will remember you having fun. Don’t stop dancing.”
“They say people don’t remember what you said but what you made them feel. That’s you, my brother. You made everyone feel like they were the best, number one, that you’re with them until the end.” Guy, his brother
Moments & memories
Fragments of a beautiful life, lovingly remembered.
Remembering Ziv
Ziv Hagbi will be remembered as a young man of curiosity, kindness, and purpose: a paratrooper who later turned his energy toward language and understanding; a friend who lifted others simply by how he made them feel; a son and brother whose warmth stayed with everyone who knew him.
He loved festivals, travel, sport, and conversation. He believed new people deserved the benefit of the doubt. He studied Arabic until he could speak it fluently. He was on the threshold of university when his life was taken at Nova.
May his memory be a blessing.
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