Those We Have Lost

Cpl. Shirat Yam Amar, 18: Observation soldier with fashion design dreams

Killed when Hamas overran the Nahal Oz IDF outpost on October 7

Cpl. Shirat Yam Amar who was killed in Nahal Oz on October 7, 2023. (Courtesy)
Cpl. Shirat Yam Amar who was killed in Nahal Oz on October 7, 2023. (Courtesy)

Cpl. Shirat Yam Amar, 18, an observation soldier in the Border Defense Corps’s 414th unit, from Kiryat Ono, was killed on October 7 when Hamas terrorists overran the Nahal Oz IDF outpost.

Amar had only enlisted in the IDF at the end of August. She finished up her basic training on Wednesday, October 4, and arrived at the Nahal Oz outpost the next day. Less than 48 hours later, she was slain in the Hamas onslaught along with 14 other observation soldiers.

Her brother said she called him at 6:54 a.m. that Saturday and told him that terrorists had stormed across the border and “to warn everyone,” while he heard the sounds of grenades and volleys on gunfire in the background. She assured her family that everything was OK and that she had to hang up to run to the bomb shelter. That was the last they heard from her.

She was considered missing for several days until her family was informed on Wednesday evening that her body had been identified.

She was buried on October 12 in Petah Tikva. She is survived by her parents, Keren and Moshe, and her brothers Yonatan and Ben.

Her younger brother, Ben, 12, wrote on Instagram that his sister had “the most perfect laugh, we called you ‘shikuti‘ at home because you always wanted us to kiss you and to pay attention to you and you succeeded in that. You were always here for us, I love you always and I am sure that you are in heaven and sitting in the chair of honor like a true queen. I love you a lot, you are the best sister I had in my life, a sister who everyone looked at and loved.”

Her father, Moshiko, told the Kan public broadcaster that his daughter “really wanted to be an observation soldier, really wanted to serve the country.”

“Yam was a girl of fields, Yam didn’t hang out in the malls,” said Moshiko. “She rode on horses, she ran barefoot through the wheat fields.”

“She was so vibrant, she was blossoming, she was goal-oriented,” he said.

She had a sewing machine at home, he added, “she would sew, her room was full of pictures of clothing that she designed,” he said, noting that a manufacturer was planning on producing a line of swimwear she designed in her memory.

Yam’s older brother, Yonatan, wrote on social media, “Our Yami, you were so strong, you had such a strong soul, our Yam, the queen of the house. We grew up togther, we rode horses together, motorcycles, everything you can imagine, we were driving vehicles since age 0 together. We did everything together, we always had each other.”

He said that Yam would always tell him, “Yonatan, we live every day and we die only once.” His sister, he said, “was brave, with a pure heart… always looking to help.”

“I promise you that every second I am on this earth will be to make you proud of me, as long as I am breathing I will memorialize you and speak about who you were to me and to the family and to everyone,” he said.

“I will love you forever, and I know that you are waiting for me at the end with your cheeky smile and your arms open for a hug,” Yonatan continued. “My little sister, Shirat Yam Amar, I salute you. I had the honor and privilege of being your big brother for 18 years — and forever.”

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