The Israel-Hamas War has proved that IDF female field observers are an indispensable part of maintaining Israel’s security, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir said Sunday.
“The war has proven more than ever that the female observers are an indispensable part of maintaining the security of the state,” he said during a visit to the Tel Hashomer recruitment office. “They are the eyes of the state. The IDF failed on October 7; the female observers who were on duty did not fail. They were the first to act with courage and heroism under fire.”
Zamir and IDF Personnel Directorate Commander Maj.-Gen. Dado Bar Kalifa said the IDF needed increased recruitment from all segments of the population.
“The IDF operates in all areas, and in all of them, there are challenges, so each and every one of us needs to adapt ourselves to all of them,” Zamir said. “The IDF’s position is clear, which is equality of burden. Whoever gives more will receive more.”
Parents of field observers asks IDF to recognize heroism
Last Thursday, the parents of IDF female lookouts and operations officers who were killed at the Nahal Oz base during the October 7 massacre called on Zamir and Defense Minister Israel Katz to formally recognize their daughters’ heroism.
“They were abandoned in life and in death, but they acted with courage and saved lives,” the parents wrote in a letter. “The IDF must award them a decoration that reflects their bravery.”
The parents described their anguish following a military debriefing they received about a month ago.
“Our minds still refuse to grasp the scale of the failure and abandonment,” they wrote. “Our hearts will never heal... Our daughters warned about the drills, the buildup, the training, the white Toyotas, and nothing was done. Even when they reported that they were being watched, no one acted.
“They were abandoned in life, abandoned to die, abandoned in death. Soldiers of no one.”
“In the debriefing, we also learned about the heroism of the soldiers. We received the official confirmation of what we already knew: the bravery of our daughters – the lookouts and operations NCOs – on the morning of October 7, who showed extraordinary courage, camaraderie, determination, and devotion in the face of the enemy.
“Those who were on shift in the operations room reported until the very last moment – at the cost of their lives – with composure, professionalism, and determination. They guided forces across the region, even as their own base came under attack, fully aware of what it meant.
“The briefing stated explicitly that their reports saved lives. Those who had finished their shift – even just half an hour earlier – and sought shelter in the exposed, unfortified shelter protected and cared for one another until the very end.
“We also learned that two lookouts managed to deflect grenades thrown into the shelter by terrorists – with their bare hands, barefoot, in pajamas. They acted heroically and saved lives.
Completing their jobs until the last minute
Those who were on shift in the operations room reported until the very last moment – at the cost of their lives – with composure, professionalism, and determination. They guided forces across the region, even as their own base came under attack, fully aware of what it meant.
The briefing stated explicitly that their reports saved lives.
Those who had finished their shift – even just half an hour earlier – and sought shelter in the exposed, unfortified shelter (migunit), protected and cared for one another until the very end.
We also learned that two lookouts managed to deflect grenades thrown into the shelter by terrorists – with their bare hands, barefoot, in pajamas – they acted heroically and saved lives.”
The parents concluded their letter with a request to the chief of staff and the defense minister, ahead of Israel’s upcoming Memorial Day, to officially recognize the courage of their daughters.
“Given their performance under fire and their courage on the morning of October 7, as well as their extraordinary conduct before that date, we believe the IDF should formally acknowledge the heroism of the Nahal Oz lookouts and operations NCOs by awarding a decoration that reflects their bravery, sacrifice, and total dedication to their duty.
“The Nahal Oz lookouts and operations NCOs must not be remembered solely as symbols of abandonment and failure; their legacy should be written in the IDF’s history books in the chapter of Israeli heroes and heroines,” the parents wrote.
The letter was signed by the parents of the fallen soldiers: Shahaf Nissani, Aviv Hajaj, Shirat Yam Amar, Maya Villalobo Polo, Noa Marciano, Shay Ashram, Hadar Miriam Cohen, Shirel Mor, Yael Leibushor, Yam Glass, Adi Landman, Noa Price, Shira Shohat, Noam Abramovich, Osher Simha Barzilay, and Shirel Haim Pour.