Second Colombian Victim in Israel, Antonio Macias, Identified

After days of anguish, it has finally been confirmed today, on Friday, that Antonio Macias was killed in the Hamas attack in Israel last Saturday. Macias, the partner of the first confirmed victim, Ivonne Rubio, was accompanying the young woman at the electronic music festival which suffered the brutal incursion by Palestinian militants.

Antonio Macias’s aunt, Sandra Paola Montaño, has confirmed to Caracol Radio that the Israeli army contacted her to notify her of her nephew’s death.

With this death, there are now 2 Colombians who have died in Israel, adding to the hundreds who have perished from various nationalities. Most of the foreign victims were killed in Negev at the music festival. According to official figures, 260 people lost their lives in that event, many of them tourists.

Scene of Horror

The Supernova electronic music festival was the scene of horror. Through the media and social networks, the world witnessed the terrible images which evidenced the brutality of the attack.

Now, the accounts of survivors further outline the tragic last moments of the victims. In this regard, friends of Antonio Macías confirm that he managed to reach a bunker when the Hamas missiles began falling in Negev. However, the place provided no protection from the ground attack.

Given the long-standing military conflict that Israel has been embroiled in for decades, the country has mandatory bunkers constructed to provide shelter in case of air attacks, and it was in one of these bunkers that Antonio ended up seeking refuge.

“Hamas arrived, threw a grenade in, killed the first people in the bunker, then entered and fired as far as they could with the weapons they had. Antonio, along with other friends, managed to run out, but they were shot,” eye-witness accounts confirmed.

The couple leaves behind two young children

Antonio Macías, 28, and his partner Ivonne Rubio, 26, were not tourists; they lived in Israel. Last weekend, the young couple was attending the event in Negev to celebrate the anniversary of their relationship. The couple leaves behind two children: a 4-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl.

Antonio worked as a barber in the city of Kfar Saba. He was the child of Colombians and held dual Colombian-Israeli nationality. He had been in a romantic relationship with the other Colombian victim, Ivonne Rubio, for 4 years. She worked in a beauty salon in a city in northern Tel Aviv.

The couple was initially reported missing, but as it was confirmed that they were not among the hostages or among the injured in hospitals, the worst was feared. Two days ago, it was learned that she had died, and today, his death has finally been confirmed as well.