Rescued Gaza hostage Ori Megidish returns to active military service
Megidish to serve in IDF Military Intelligence Directorate after being kidnapped on Oct. 7 from Nahal Oz base where she served as surveillance soldier
Cpl. Ori Megidish, who was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 and later rescued from captivity in the Gaza Strip by the Israel Defense Forces, returned to active military service on Monday.
Megidish, who had served as a surveillance soldier at the Nahal Oz post, will now serve in the IDF’s Military Intelligence Directorate.
The IDF said that the decision to return Megidish to service “stemmed from her personal desire and sense of mission to serve the country.”
Megidish was abducted from the Nahal Oz post by Hamas terrorists on October 7 when the group launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, murdering some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 253.
In total, 66 soldiers were killed in Hamas’s assault on the base, and a number were taken hostage.
While Megidish was kidnapped along with other soldiers from the base, she was believed to have been held alone and was rescued by the IDF in an overnight mission on October 30. The IDF did not release further details on the rescue.
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said that the rescued soldier was able to provide helpful details about her time in captivity.
Following her rescue, Megidish met with a number of Israeli officials including President Isaac Herzog, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, and Shin Bet head Ronen Bar.
Megidish also met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, and told her that she was eager to return to active service.
It is believed that 130 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza — not all of them alive — after 105 civilians were released from Hamas captivity during a weeklong truce in late November. Four hostages were released before that, and three were rescued by troops, including Megidish. The bodies of eight hostages have also been recovered and three hostages were mistakenly killed by the military. One more person has been listed as missing since October 7, and her fate is still unknown.
