Those We Have Lost

Sgt. Shay Ashram, 19: Observation soldier loved to post TikTok videos

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

Sgt. Shay Ashram who was killed in Nahal Oz on October 7, 2023. (Courtesy)
Sgt. Shay Ashram who was killed in Nahal Oz on October 7, 2023. (Courtesy)

Sgt. Shay Ashram, 19, an observation soldier in the Border Defense Corps’s 414th unit from Rehovot, was killed when Hamas terrorists overran the Nahal Oz IDF outpost on October 7.

Speaking to Channel 13 news, her father, Dror, said she called them that morning to say goodbye when she realized she would not make it out alive. Her family said during that phone call she also asked them to go to her aunt’s house instead because they didn’t have a bomb shelter at home.

“She said, ‘Mom, Dad, I love you, I want to say goodbye to you,'” he recalled. “‘Dad, you don’t understand what’s going on here, there are terrorists in the base, there are terrorists everywhere’… I couldn’t believe that was our last conversation.”

Shay was buried in the Rehovot military cemetery on October 10. She is survived by her parents, Sari and Dror, and her siblings Erel, Tehila and Shachar.

Dror said that Shay was supposed to be released from the observation soldier position because of her back problems, “but she fought to stay an observation soldier, she fought for it.”

Speaking to the Kan public broadcaster, Dror described his daughter as “a charming girl, a gifted girl. Yes, everyone says that about their children, but really, I would always laugh with her because I’d say, ‘You have a test tomorrow,’ and she’d say ‘Daddy, don’t worry, it’ll be OK,’ and I’d say, ‘But you have to study,’ and she’d say, ‘There’s no need.'” Later, he said, he’d ask her how she did: “‘100′ or ’98.’ Always like that.”

He said she was friends on base with Noa Marciano, who was kidnapped by Hamas and murdered in Gaza, and Ori Megidish, who was kidnapped and later rescued by the IDF, and the trio would post TikTok dances together: “They were so happy, having parties, dinners together. [Shay] always took care of everyone, was always laughing, enjoying life, very opinionated — when she wanted something, nothing stood in her way.”

On October 5, the trio posted one last TikTok video, dancing to a song in their army uniforms with the caption “energies of a [shift] at 4 a.m.” — never dreaming that less than 48 hours later they would all be kidnapped or killed.

Two months after she was killed, Shay’s sister Shachar wrote on social media: “My Shay. Who could imagine that you would stay forever 19?”

“Who would believe that I won’t get to see you get married and have children? I was so looking forward to making your potential groom sign on the contract, ‘No returns,'” she joked. “Because how much can anyone handle your craziness? I wish so much that you will come and we can just go crazy together. And fight and laugh and get annoyed. I just want you back so much.”

Her mother, Sari, wrote on Facebook marking 30 days since she was killed: “30 days of agony and heartbreak, my heart refuses to believe that you won’t come home again and ask, ‘Mom, what did you make for me to eat? What’s your schedule today?'”

“My Shusha, I’m sorry I couldn’t be there to for you to help you, sorry I didn’t protect you from the murderers,” she continued. “Rest in peace my beautiful girl, send me strength so I can continue to live without losing my sanity. I love you and I miss you.”

Read more Those We Have Lost stories here.

Most Popular
read more: