Staff Sgt. Shahaf Nissani, 20: ‘Angel’ lookout soldier set to be released

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

Staff Sgt. Shahaf Nissani, 20, an observation soldier in the Border Defense Corps’s 414th unit, from Ashkelon, was killed when Hamas terrorists overran the Nahal Oz IDF outpost on October 7.

She is survived by her parents, Ilana and Rahamim, and her three older siblings, Moshe, Sapir and Dolev. She was buried on October 12 in Ashkelon.

Her first cousin, Eden Gez, was slain while attending the Supernova rave on the same day.

A day before she was killed, Shahaf had celebrated her upcoming release from the military, after October 7 was meant to be her last weekend spent on base before her mandatory service ended on October 11 — the day her body was found.

Her sister, Sapir Nissani, told the Kan public radio that she was “so excited” for her parting evening on base, “she gave everyone gifts, she gave them all letters, she read out loud her parting words about her experience.”

Sapir said Shahaf called them at 6:30 the next morning, “confused and crying and shaking, with terrifying noises in the background of all the girls screaming, and she said, ‘Mom, they’re shooting at us, there’s a terrorist invasion, I love you.'” They continued texting for another hour, and then the connection was cut off.

“She also gave her phone to other girls who didn’t have their phones,” she said. “Shahaf as Shahaf, who was the biggest angel in the world, up until her last moments… gave her phone to her friends to say goodbye to their parents as well,” Sapir recounted, “instead of continuing to talk to us.”

“Shahaf was so good, I always say that she was too good, too good for us,” Sapir said. “She never got annoyed at anyone or got mad, she saw the best in everyone.” She noted that Shahaf suffered from anxiety attacks from growing up in Ashkelon amid constant rocket fire, and overcame it with therapy to enlist in the IDF.

Her commanders in the army “all spoke about how great she was and how she helped others… even when she was new there. It warms my heart to know that an angel lived with us for 20 years. She just left too early.”

Her brother, Dolev Nissani, penned a tribute to “the most pure girl, good, beautiful, glowing, smiling, modest, one big heart, as everyone who knew you would testify.”

“My little one, while my heart right now is wounded, bleeding and pained, I promise that we will stay a strong and united family, exactly as you requested in your last WhatsApp [message] in the family group, a moment before the cursed terrorists conquered your base,” he wrote.

“The love of my life, my little duckling, I am proud to be your brother,” he continued. “Thank you for every moment we experienced together in life, you taught me what pure joy is, what optimism is, what unconditional love is, all this and you didn’t even get to see anything in life. But that’s you, always thinking about others first and then yourself.”