Cpt. Eden Nimri, 22: Professional swimmer, led all-female IDF team
Killed battling against Hamas at the Nahal Oz IDF outpost on October 7
Cpt. Eden Nimri, 22, a swimmer who competed internationally for Israel and served as a commander in the Artillery Corps’ drone unit, was killed on October 7 while fighting Hamas terrorists in the IDF Nahal Oz outpost.
Eden served as a commander of an all-female team in the elite “Sky Riders” unit. Her family said that on the morning of the attack, they were stationed at Nahal Oz — covering for another team that was on break — and when the sirens began, she ran with her team to the bomb shelter.
Armed but still in pajamas, Eden positioned herself at one of the two entrances of the shelter, a concrete structure which does not fully close, aiming to protect the large number of unarmed observation soldiers also inside. She opened fire on the first terrorist to enter, but he was followed by many more, armed with grenades and assault rifles. Eden was killed, but 11 soldiers, including the four other members of her Sky Riders unit, managed to run for safety from the second entrance, while many others inside the shelter were killed and kidnapped.
Eden is survived by her parents, Sharon and Michael, and her siblings Hadar and Noga. She was buried on October 13 in Modiin.
According to an IDF obituary, Eden had wide and varied interests in her youth, including ballet, jazz, chess, photography and theater, but none as much as swimming, a love she inherited from her parents. She joined the Israeli youth team and became dedicated to practices and competitions, competing in Israel and abroad and arriving at school each day with wet hair from early-morning practice.
Eden represented Israel at the 2018 European Junior Open Water Swimming Championships, where she finished 30th. She also competed at the International School Sport Federation’s 2017 World Championships and at the 2014 Mediterranean Cup.
“Eden was an amazing girl, a good friend, competitive, extremely hardworking, highly self-disciplined, worked hard, always aimed high, set goals and met them,” the Israel Swimming Association wrote on Instagram.
Her family said that she could have served under the special conditions of an “outstanding athlete” in the IDF, allowing her to still train and compete, but she chose instead an all-encompassing army route. When she first enlisted, she started a pilots’ course, but ultimately didn’t make it through the very challenging path, and ended up in the Sky Riders.
Her favorite holiday was Purim, her loved ones said, and each year she would spend hours designing and creating the perfect costume, including one year as falafel in a pita.
Her boyfriend, who can’t be named due to his army service, told Kan public radio that Eden was “the most beautiful, the smartest, the bravest.”
“She coolly led a battle on Saturday morning together with her fighters and ultimately sacrificed herself so they would stay alive,” he added.
Her mother, Sharon, told Israel Hayom that Eden “always excelled, always demanded more from herself. Eden was very modest — she always planned to achieve bigger things, but only in competition with herself, not with others.”
Sharon said Eden “had dreams from here to Honolulu, she studied to be a coach and swim counselor and she thought that after the army she would go back to swimming, but also work in real estate and maybe even be a brain researcher. She even enjoyed fashion as well.”
Eden’s older sister, Hadar, told Haaretz that “she would break down barriers without even trying.” She wanted to be an Israel Air Force pilot, “and she believed she could do it because she was a woman. She wasn’t deterred by the fact that only 10% of people in the course were girls, she understood that those percentages weren’t because girls can’t do it.”
Hadar said Eden saw no contradiction between being both a tough fighter and a feminine woman: “She was the most girly you could imagine, but the biggest warrior, impressive, noble — that’s what was so groundbreaking about her.” Hadar said Eden “always wanted to be in a happy atmosphere, she was crazy funny. She was just kind and it was important to her for those around her to have fun. She was a wonderful sister, always caring and worrying. She was so busy, but in her own way she was also very caring and concerned.”
