Inbar Haiman, murdered in Hamas captivity, Israel’s last female hostage finally comes home

Inbar Haiman, 27 years old when she was killed and the last female hostage whose remains had not been returned to Israel, was finally brought back home.

Her body was one of two returned by the Hamas terror organization on Wednesday night, and her identity was confirmed after a forensic examination.

Inbar was a visual communication student and artist living in the northern Israeli city of Haifa when she was kidnapped from the Nova music festival in Re’im, southern Israel, on Oct. 7, 2023.

Haiman had traveled to the Nova rave party as a volunteer, to help those who might be feeling unwell amid the all-night music and dance scene, which is often accompanied by lots of alcoholic beverages and even illicit drugs.

In the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7 massacre, it was not clear what had happened to Inbar, with some reports saying she had been abducted by Hamas into Gaza while still alive. However, two people who fled from the Nova festival with her said she was shot by Hamas terrorists after refusing to go with them to Gaza. 

Besides being a design student at the University of Haifa, Haiman was also a well-known graffiti artist on the local and international scene, going by the nickname “Pink,” after her favorite color. Along with her boyfriend, Noam, she was also a frequent spectator at the Maccabi Haifa football club. 

To raise awareness of her kidnapping, Haiman's family and friends launched a national and international campaign with the slogan freepink and enlisted graffiti artists in Israel and around the world to paint on walls and networks in her honor. The Maccabi Haifa football club also hosted events to raise awareness for Inbar, and fans held signs and pictures of her during games and events at the stadium.

During the first hostage release, in November of 2023, some still held out hope that Haiman might be alive. However, on Dec. 16, Israeli authorities announced that she had been murdered by Hamas and her body taken into captivity. 

The Maccabi Haifa football club designed a special t-shirt to commemorate Haiman, which reads FOREVER PINK, in her honor. 

After the bodies of Ofra Kedar and the late Judy Weinstein were returned from Gaza earlier this year, Haiman was the only female hostage whose remains were still in Gaza. 

Haiman's aunt, Hannah Cohen, told Channel 14 that family members had received a disturbing video shortly after October 7th – reportedly from a member of Hamas – that showed Inbar being shot. The clip was circulated on Instagram, and an anonymous caller phoned Inbar’s father to describe it, telling him to “burn down the country.”

Cohen had previously expressed harsh words about the government for not demanding the return of her niece's remains earlier. 

“Inbar was humiliated by the State of Israel," Cohen told Israeli media. "She should have been returned in the women's agreement – and this is a disgrace to the state.” (In the first hostage release, women and children were released before any male hostages.)  

Haiman's mother, Yifat, told Ynet in an interview last September that the family is waiting for closure. 

“We were told about Inbar after 70 days, but I have nothing tangible that I can know that it is really true,” Yifat said at the time. “It is impossible to mourn, I need closure. If I can't take her to the wedding in a wedding dress, I want to kiss her coffin, put a flower, talk to her.” 

In a recent interview with Channel 12 News, Yifat said, “Soon we will mark two years to October 7, and it's very difficult. We are in the status of parents of the dead hostages, suspended between heaven and earth. Only after 70 days, we were told that Inbar had been murdered, but it's not tangible, we didn't see it. And until I see her here, I won't really believe it's her.” 

After the government announced that Inbar's remains had been returned, her aunt Hannah Cohen told the Hebrew channel of i24 News, "There is a detail that we hid about Inbar and we were prevented from telling. Now we can tell that Inbar was a commander in Caracall, and she fought the terrorists because she refused to be taken prisoner."

She added, "I was blessed with such a special niece. Now she will receive the honor she so deserves as a heroine of Israel."