Family of American Killed by Hamas Says They’ve Lost ‘Some Belief’ in Good Prevailing Over Evil

The aunt of Addir Mesika, a 23-year-old Israeli-American man who was killed while trying to charge at Hamas gunmen in their massacre at a music festival in Israel on Oct. 7, says his death has left her at a bit of a loss in the belief that "good will prevail against evil."

Morielle Lotan described her nephew and his last moments on CNN Tuesday, sharing how Mesika loved nature and the ocean, and how he was considering a career as an engineer with hopes to help address climate change just before he was killed.

"We lost one of the kindest, most loving human beings not only in our immediate family, but in our community," Lotan said. "And I think we also lost, at least for now, some belief in the fact that good will prevail against evil."

According to CNN, Mesika was at the Supernova music and dance festival, where Hamas gunmen killed about 260 people and took others hostage in their surprise assault on Israel.

Mesika has been hailed as a hero after he and a friend realized the terrorists were targeting shelters festival goers were taking refuge in; told their other friends and Mesika's girlfriend to stay put; and set out to take on the gunmen, unarmed, the news network reported.

"I think what sticks with me most is that his bravery and his love of those who he loved most – his friends, his family, his girlfriend – never left him – not for a moment while he was alive, and not in the moments that led to his death," Lotan told CNN.

She said the grief she has felt in the weeks since the attack has been challenging, citing also how others who lost loved ones in the massacre still haven't been able to reunite with their remains.

Archeologists are currently sifting through the charred remains of victims, including teeth and other bone fragments, who were burned by Hamas, so they may eventually be properly identified, Israeli officials said.

Lotan said Israelis have been left having to figure out "how to collect pieces that are shattered, while paying attention to the fact that our energy, our collective community, will be needed to rebuild not just Israel, but I think many parts of humanity that are now broken."

"My head and my heart are very much divided but focused on both grieving and rebuilding, just like I mentioned I think Addir would have wanted," she added.

Asked what she thinks Mesika's message would be today, if he was still alive, Lotan spoke about how she wears a bracelet etched with the day Mesika was killed and the coordinates of where he died.

"He is with me. I try to hear him," she said. "I think that as much as Adir would want to be rebuilding, he would first want to be protecting those that he loves, including his brother, who is a soldier in the [Israel Defense Forces] and other soldiers.

"And he would want to make sure that his friends and family were protected, both in Israel and around the world," she added. "And once we accomplish that, we will focus on rebuilding."

About 1,400 Israelis were killed in the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, which also took more than 200 others hostage as the terrorists retreated to Gaza.

According to the Hamas-operated Health Ministry in Gaza, more than 8,000 Palestinians have now died as Israeli forces seek to root out the terrorist organization that rules over the war-torn strip.