Maayan Dee, a survivor of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on the Supernova music festival, has spoken out about the profound emotional and psychological battles she and fellow survivors continue to face. The attack, which occurred on Oct. 7, 2023, resulted in the deaths of 378 people at the festival and the taking of 44 hostages from the event, part of a broader assault that claimed over 1,200 lives in Israel.
"My life was cut in half," Dee, 26, told The Post. "You have the previous life, and then life post-Nova." She described the experience as a stark division, separating her life into a period before and after the attack.
Dee, who moved to the UK from Israel at age 6, joined the Israel Defense Forces in 2019. She credits her military training with enabling her to make critical decisions that saved her life and those of others during the assault. She recalled hearing rockets initially, mistaking their sound for the festival's music, before recognizing the distinct noise of automatic gunfire. Dee understood this was not the IDF, as her training had taught her that automatic weapons are less safe and accurate than those typically used by Israeli forces.
Her account comes in the wake of another Oct. 7 survivor taking his own life, a tragedy that has amplified the ongoing struggles faced by those who endured the attack. "I had 14 friends who were with me who all — thank God — survived, but each of us is taking it their own way," Dee said. "It’s more difficult to find meaning in life now, because a lot of us say, ‘I got this life back as a gift. How do I go back to work?’ " She articulated the complex emotional state of "extreme gratitude for being alive mixed with the desire to disappear and not feel this pain anymore."
Dee shared the poignant words of fellow festival survivor Roei Shalev, who died by suicide on the second anniversary of the attacks in October 2025. "The same night, he wrote on his Instagram story, ‘I can’t explain this feeling to anyone. I don’t expect you to understand, but I am burning from the inside,’ " Dee recounted.
In the aftermath of the attack, Dee received support from SafeHeart, an Israeli organization providing therapy and assistance to survivors. She has been working with the same psychologist since then, crediting the organization with saving her life during a period of intense survivor's guilt, during which she was using cannabis daily. "Why am I destroying my life now that I’ve got it as a gift?" she questioned, noting that her psychologist helped her process these feelings and alleviate some of the guilt.
Music has also become a crucial outlet for Dee. She has found solace and a way to channel her energy through playing the piano and wrote a song titled "Bring Them Home" to support the hostages and raise funds for their families. She has also become an advocate, speaking before Israel's parliament in June and participating in the Israel Day March in New York City in May. She described the march as an empowering event that fostered unity within the Jewish community.
SafeHeart has provided treatment to 2,500 Oct. 7 survivors, reporting that many continue to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Efrat Aton, CEO of SafeHeart, emphasized the long and complex nature of recovery from such a severe trauma, highlighting the need for sustained, specialized support from professionals who understand the profound shift from the initial joy and freedom to the subsequent terror experienced by survivors.