Our son saved pals by throwing back 7 Hamas grenades before 8th killed him…but he left us final heartbreaking message

Scottish Sun

25-05-2025

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THE parents of a British-Israeli soldier who sacrificed his life in the October 7 atrocity found a heartbreaking final message in his unreleased music.
Brave Aner Shapira, 22, heroically threw back seven live grenades hurled into a bomb shelter by callous Hamas fighters in a bid to save his friends.
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Aner Shapira, right, with dad Moshe
Credit: Family Handout
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Brave Aner positioned himself in the doorway of the shelter to throw grenades out
Credit: Family Handout
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Shocking footage showed Hamas terrorists repeatedly hurling grenades into the shelter
Credit: X/Israel
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Aner, front left, with his siblings and parents
Credit: Family Handout
Heart-stopping footage showed the off-duty soldier, dressed in a t-shirt and sandals, lobbing grenades out of the shelter he and 26 terrified others were hiding in.
Tragically, the eighth device exploded and killed the fearless off-duty soldier.
His resilient parents, dad Moshe and mum Shira, said they were not surprised by his courageous act.
They first heard about their son's heroics from two people who survived the barbaric October 7 attack thanks to Aner.
Proud dad Moshe said: "We got a phone call from a girl, a survivor, and said said 'I want to tell you, due to Aner, I'm alive. Your son is a hero'.
"When the videos of the grenades came out and went viral, people told us it's amazing what he did.
"But nobody [his friends, family, colleagues] was surprised.
"Since he was a small child, it was obvious that was his spirit."
Shira added: "He always took a stand. When he saw something was not right, he would come and feel like it was his own business to make it better.
"He acted like that, and he also wrote about it."
Israeli military says it began extensive ground operations in northern and southern Gaza
Keen pianist Aner, who grew up in the quiet south Jerusalem neighbourhood of Talpiot, fell in love with music at an early age.
Aner, the eldest of seven children, later explored rap and hip-hop, often singing about social justice and unity.
After his death, his parents found a catalogue of music that was published as an album - Looking for Love - to mark what would have been his 24th birthday.
In one song, they found a poignant final message from the IDF Staff Sergeant.
Moshe said: "Whenever people ask us about Aner, they want us to tell them about the last half an hour of his life, the battle, the shelter, what happened with the grenades.
"But we insist on looking at his whole life."
Shira added: "He found the best way for him to combine his love for music and his love of his principals, his values, his ideas...was composing, singing and recording his music.
"We have more than 60 songs that he left expressing his values and his way of life, and he wanted to publish his album, but he didn't have the chance.
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An album of Aner's music has been released to mark what would have been his 24th birthday
Credit: Family Handout
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Harrowing scenes showed hundreds fleeing the Nova music festival
Credit: Twitter
Gaza offensive puts hostages 'in danger'
by Katie Davis, Chief Foreign Reporter (Digital), in Paris
ISRAEL'S new offensive in Gaza hinders bringing the remaining hostages home and puts them in "immediate danger", a former diplomat has warned.
Ex-Israeli ambassador Daniel Shek questioned the point of the latest ground operation against Hamas as he insisted the military is now "going around in circles".
Earlier this year, there was a glimmer of hope as both the terror group and Israel laid down their arms and 33 hostages - 25 alive - were released.
But Shek said the three-phase plan failed to reach its second phase as Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition partners vowed they would leave if it did - collapsing the government.
Now Israel risks sanctions from the UK and France after launching a renewed ground offensive just after Donald Trump left the region without fixing a ceasefire deal.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun in Paris, Shek warned the fresh operation - dubbed Gideon's Chariots - has a "two-fold danger" for those still captive.
His call for the Israeli government to prioritise returning the hostages through diplomatic means before crushing Hamas was echoed by Shoshan Haran, who was kidnapped by terrorists.
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"So we released it for his birthday.
"In one of his songs, he's saying 'if something happens to me, if I'm dead, publish my album'."
Talented Aner was enjoying the Nova music festival in southern Israel with a close group of friends when it was stormed by gun-toting Hamas terrorists.
As rocket fire rang out, Aner - the grandson of the late Israeli lawmaker Haim Moshe Shapira - and his pals rushed to a roadside bomb shelter next to kibbutz Re'im.
Aner bravely positioned himself in the doorway to protect the other 26 hiding inside as brutal fighters bombarded the shelter with grenades.
He throw them out one by one before the eighth killed him.
Of those inside, 16 were murdered and four others were kidnapped by merciless Hamas militants.
The four hostages taken were Aner's best friend Hersh Goldberg-Polin who lost his arm in the attack before being murdered in Gaza.
Eliya Cohen and Or Levy have been released, while another victim, Eynav, was killed.
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