TEL AVIV, ISRAEL: A young Israeli girl whose 'Harry Potter'-inspired photo went viral on social media following her abduction by the Palestine militant group has been tragically found dead alongside her grandmother in Gaza.
Noya Dan, who was only 12 years old at the time of her death, was found dead somewhere in Gaza by the Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday, October 18, along with her grandmother, Carmela Dan.
“There was an operation by the Israeli army some days ago at this point to retrieve bodies, and we believe that it took them time to run what we know to be three DNA tests and to identify that it was both of them,” Carmela’s niece Abbey Onn told NBC News’ Lester Holt.
Carmela Dan's birthday was celebrated just 24 hours prior to her tragic death
Carmela celebrated her 80th birthday on Tuesday, October 17. Her relatives, little did they know of what was waiting for them, hosted a birthday celebration for the woman in Israel less than 24 hours before learning of her death.
On October 7, when the grandmother disappeared from her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz along with her granddaughter who had gone there for a sleepover, the family assumed both were taken hostage.
What did Carmela Dan's niece Abbey Onn say?
When asked if Carmella and Noya were taken hostages, Onn on Thursday, October 19, said that Carmella and Noya being found across the Israel-Gaza border may indicate that, but it has yet to be proved.
Noya emerged as a symbol of the predicament of Israeli children targeted by Hamas after the official social media account of the State of Israel shared her photo wearing a Gryffindor tie and clutching a prop wand and a Hebrew copy of 'Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince.'
The image has been viewed more than 26 million times.
Noya Dan's viral photo
“This beautiful 12-year-old girl with autism was kidnapped from her home by the Palestine militant group and was taken to Gaza,” the post accompanying the picture read on X.
“Noya, is sensitive, kind, funny and a massive Harry Potter fan,” the message continued, before appealing to J K Rowing, the author of the 'Harry Potter' book series to help share the 12-year-old’s story.
J K Rowling retweeted the post
Rowling retweeted the post, writing in a message to her 14 million followers. “Kidnapping children is despicable and wholly unjustifiable. For obvious reasons, this picture has hit home with me. May Noya and all hostages taken by Hamas be returned soon, safely, to their families," she tweeted.
According to Israel network Kan Hadashot, Noya left her mother, Galit, a final voicemail in which she described hearing loud explosions before she was taken from her grandmother’s home.
“All the window’s in grandma’s house are broken, at the entrance, because there was another boom,” Noya could be heard saying in Hebrew before moaning the word, “Mommy.”
Noya's mother was earlier not aware that her daughter was abducted
Galit said she received a final text message from her daughter at around 12.30 pm on October 7.
She was not aware of what happened in Kibbutz Nir Oz until 4 am the following day when her sister told her that Noya, her mother, and the sister’s sons, Sahar and Erez Kalderon, had been taken.
“What are they doing with her?” Galit said through tears, referring to her daughter Noya. “I hope they are together. I’m praying," she said.
