Parents of female Nahal Oz soldiers killed on Oct. 7 ask IDF to recognize their bravery

The parents of the female soldiers and officers killed at the Nahal Oz Base on October 7, 2023, ask IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir to recognize the bravery of their children on that day.

“It is appropriate that the IDF officially recognize the heroism of the female surveillance soldiers and senior officers of the Nahal Oz base in a manner that reflects their courage and exceptional performance,” the families say in a letter, according to the Walla news site.

The parents of Cpl. Noa Marciano, who was kidnapped on October 7 and killed in Gaza, also sign the letter.

“The mind still refuses to digest the magnitude of the failure and abandonment. The heart will never heal… Our girls warned about the exercises, the preparations, the training, the ‘white Toyotas,’ and nothing was done,” the letter reads. “Even when they warned that they were being observed, no one did anything about it. They were robbed of their lives.”

“In the investigation, we were also exposed to the heroism of the soldiers,” the parents say.

“The investigation explicitly stated that they saved lives,” the letter reads, citing the heroic efforts by many of those on the base that day. “They demonstrated extraordinary courage, bravery, determination and devotion to duty in the face of the enemy.”

“In the investigation, we also discovered that two female surveillance soldiers managed to repel grenades that the terrorists threw into the shelter. With bare hands, barefoot and in pajamas, they acted heroically and saved lives,” the letter says.

The parents conclude with a request ahead of the upcoming Memorial Day, that the women’s’ bravery be formally recognized.

The Nahal Oz base was the hardest-hit IDF facility in Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, during which some 5,600 terrorists stormed across the border, massacred some 1,200 people, and took 251 hostages to Gaza.

In all, 53 soldiers were killed at the base: 31 combat troops and 22 noncombat — including 16 female surveillance soldiers. Another 10 were abducted — seven female surveillance soldiers and three tank soldiers.