Inside the wellness retreat where Nova festival survivors are coming together to recover from the trauma of the bloodbath: ‘I want to clear my mind of the screams’

• The Israeli-run wellness retreat is set deep within a mountainous forest in Cyprus

Nova festival survivors are coming together at a wellness retreat in Cyprus as they try to get to grips with the trauma of the October 7 music festival bloodbath in Israel.

At the Israeli-run wellness retreat, set deep within a mountainous forest, survivor Matan Madar wants to dull the cries. Dor Rahamim is looking for peace. Neta Cohen says she wants to live her life to the full, after seeing the lives of others so brutally cut short.

‘We are trying to clear the mind of the screams,’ said Madar, 23, who lost friends when Hamas terrorists went on a bloody rampage at the Nova festival.

Some 364 people were shot, bludgeoned or burned to death at the all-night festival, held about 5km (2 miles) from the Gaza Strip.

Israel estimates in total 1,200 people were killed in the attack on its south that triggered a retaliatory onslaught, which the Hamas-run health ministry says has seen more than 15,000 Palestinians killed in the coastal enclave.

Survivors of the October 7 Hamas attack on the Nova music festival in Israel attend art therapy lessons at the Secret Forest wellness retreat in Miliou, Cyprus 

Matan Madar and Chen Ben David, survivors of the October 7 Hamas attack on a music festival in Israel, are seen at the Secret Forest wellness retreat in Miliou, Cyprus

People fleeing after Hamas terrorists descended on the Nova music festival on October 7

Israeli businessman Yoni Kahana, who operates the retreat on the east Mediterranean island, is hosting survivors free of charge. 

Aided by an Israeli NGO, IsraAID, the Secret Forest retreat in the mountains above Paphos in western Cyprus has a steady rotation of festival survivors seeking solace.

‘When we saw what was happening in Israel we decided immediately to help,’ said Kahana. 

He said more than 1,800 Israelis had signed up to a programme which includes yoga, therapy sessions, hiking and meditation overseen by up to 20 volunteer therapists.

‘They are getting the tools to get back to living,’ he said.

Rahamim, 28, sits on the floor in a corner of an art therapy class, his back against the wall.

Survivors of the October 7 Hamas attack hold an introductory meeting with a therapist at the Secret Forest wellness retreat

The Secret Forest wellness retreat in Miliou, Cyprus, which is hosting survivors of the October 7 Hamas attack on a music festival in Israel

Hamas attack survivor Neta Cohen, 28 works on a collage at the wellness retreat

Therapist Lilach Galkin and survivors of the October 7 Hamas attack at the Secret Forest wellness retreat 

Survivors of the Hamas gunmen attack on the Nova festival take part in a ceremony officiated by the Chief Rabbi of Cyprus Arie Zeev Raskin (not pictured), marking the end of a seven-day healing process that took place at the Secret Forest resort, at the Jewish Community Centre in Larnaca, Cyprus, on November 30, 2023

Survivors of the October 7 Hamas attack on a music festival walk to a therapy session at the Secret Forest wellness retreat

Survivors of the October 7 Hamas attack on a music festival gather ahead of a therapy session at the Secret Forest wellness retreat

Survivors of the October 7 Hamas attack on a music festival in Israel walk to a therapy session at the Secret Forest wellness retreat

Dor Rahamim, 28, makes a scrapbook with dry leaves at the Secret Forest wellness retreat in Miliou, Cyprus

Survivors of the Hamas gunmen attack on a music festival take part in a ceremony officiated by the Chief Rabbi of Cyprus Arie Zeev Raskin, marking the end of a seven-day healing process that took place at the Secret Forest resort, at the Jewish Community Centre in Larnaca, Cyprus on November 30, 2023

Survivors of the Hamas gunmen attack on a music festival in Israel take part in a ceremony officiated by the Chief Rabbi of Cyprus Arie Zeev Raskin (not pictured), marking the end of a seven-day healing process that took place at the Secret Forest resort, at the Jewish Community Centre in Larnaca, Cyprus, on November 30, 2023

‘I just feel like I am nervous all the time, it’s very intense, I need to look around, to feel, to see that everything is OK, that somebody doesn’t surprise me.’

Many trauma survivors turn to art in an attempt to externalise their feelings, painting with red, white and black, the colours of trauma, before adding rays of sun, a rainbow, or a flower, said therapist Lilach Galkin.

‘A lot of things are connected to hope. Hope and peace,’ she said.

Neta Cohen is working on a collage. It included a photo taken from a social media website of a person with no ‘likes’, because, she said, people do not need to live their lives craving approval from others.

‘You need to do what you want and you like, because I’ve realised in these past two months that life is short.’

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