Hero Policeman’s Name Tag Returned to Family Amid Emotional Ceremony

Jerusalem, 23 June, 2024 (TPS) -- In a poignant ceremony, the name tag of a hero police officer was returned to his grieving family after it was recently discovered on the body of a Hamas terrorist killed on October 7.

Major Shay Al Knafo, 30, was a patrol officer in the towns of Israel’s Negev region who was on duty at the Nova Music Festival when Hamas attacked. He and his commander Insp. Andrey Poshivay fought for several hours, saving many lives, before being killed.

A resident of Beer-Sheva, Al Knafo is survived by his wife and two daughters.

The name tag was found on the body of a terrorist identified as a member of Hamas’s elite Nukhba Force,” Police Inspector Shmuel Ashkenazi said.

“As part of our duties in the reserves, we are responsible for the recovery of the bodies of terrorists stored in freezer containers. During a search on one of the bodies, inside his clothes, the name tag of the late policeman Shay El Knafo was found,” Ashkenazi said. “In addition, a lot of looted property was located, a lot of money, jewelry, identity cards and anything that could be looted.”

The site of the music festival, by Kibbutz Re’im, has emerged as a pilgrimage point for Israelis to process their grief and for visiting foreigners to show solidarity. The all-night rave, attended by 3,500 people, became a killing field where 364 people were massacred and 40 others were taken hostage. Of all the locations attacked by Hamas on October 7, the highest death toll was at the music festival.

At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 116 remaining hostages, more than 30 are believed dead.