Alexandre Look, 33, a Canadian who had been living in Mexico and was vacationing in Israel over the holiday period, was murdered by Hamas terrorists at the Supernova music festival on October 7.
His parents, Alain and Raquel, said they were on a video call with Alexandre when the attack was happening early Saturday morning.
He was hiding inside a bomb shelter that did not have a door, “and then I heard him tell his friends, ‘They’re coming back. There’s a lot of them. And then all I heard was a lot of gunshots, lots of rounds and then we heard nothing,” Raquel told the CBC Canadian news outlet.
Others who were on the scene at the time later told Look’s parents that his actions had saved their lives. He had used his body to block the entrance to the shelter as the terrorists found them.
“I swear to you he was our shield, if it wasn’t for him, all 30 of us in there would be dead,” said a woman in a recording played by Raquel during the interview.
“Alex was a force of nature, endowed with a unique charisma and unparalleled generosity,” Alain wrote in a Facebook post. “Like a true warrior, he died like a hero, wanting to protect the people he was with.”
His friend, Luciano Russo, wrote on Facebook that Look was “a true hero who will be missed by all — the most unique person I’ve ever met, who knew how to talk and connect to everyone… I can’t believe that I’m beginning another day and you’re no longer here.”
Russo shared a video of Look telling people at the party that “everything is OK” as air raid sirens sounded: “They caught you in the desert without any defense, and you went and protected everyone who was with you.”
Josiah Borchers, who described Look as his best friend, recalled him in a Facebook post as the life of the party.
“There are no words to describe the hurt anger, sadness, and loss we are all experiencing,” Borchers wrote. “Alex was larger than life, one of a kind, one in a million, his personality filled the room. Incredibly intelligent, successful, speaking multiple languages… When entering a room Alex was always the first one to get up and loudly greet you and show his love for you and welcome with a drink. Alex was always the life of the party even when there was no party, there would be one just by being around him.”