Aner Shapira was a 22-year-old soldier who was off duty and went to the Nova party with a group of friends including his childhood friend Hersch Golberg Polin. After the Hamas attack started with a barrage of rockets and terrorists roaming Israel, Aner was looking for safety. Like many party goers, Aner along with 30 other people crammed themselves into a tiny bomb shelter near one of the roads where the party took place. The bomb shelter quickly became a death trap as terrorists threw in grenades into the small bomb shelter.

Aner was trying to take control of the situation and calm the people that were hiding in the bomb shelter with him. With bare hands, Aner caught the grenade that was thrown in the bomb shelter and tossed it outside. He did not hesitate, did not flinch despite not knowing how long the terrorists held the grenade for. Aner quickly assembled a makeshift team and instructed them to continue his actions if he is killed.

The terrorists realized that someone is throwing away their grenades. They threw in more grenades. Aner was tossing away grenade after grenade while the rest of the people were lying down behind him. After 7 grenades 8th one caught on to him and he was killed on the spot.

Aner’s heroism is credited with saving dozens of people. The survivors describe how he managed to create a more tranquil atmosphere in an impossible situation and how his leadership gave people hope and made them feel a little bit more protected. He took action and tried calling people he knew from the military. He told the people that were with him that everything will be alright.  Aner was a musician and recorded himself singing songs about unity and love with regards to the social divisions that plagued Israel prior to October 7th.