In honor of International Women’s Day, an event was hosted titled “our voices are heard” in honor of the slain female IDF observers from Kibbutz Nahal Oz, who were brutally massacred on October 7th.
By Rachel Avraham
The Jerusalem Post recently reported that in honor of International Women’s Day, six women’s organizations: Women Wage Peace, WIZO, Na’amat, Bonot Alternativa, Avoda Shava, and Kolech: Religious Women’s Forum, together with the families of the IDF female observers, hosted an event titled “our voices are heard” in honor of the slain female IDF observers from Kibbutz Nahal Oz, who were brutally massacred on October 7th.
On October 7, beginning at 6:23 in the morning, hundreds of Hamas terrorists stormed the Nahal Oz base, murdering around 60 soldiers, including 15 unarmed female IDF field observers, members of IDF Unit 414—the majority of whom burned to death while hiding in their command center, Hadassah Magazine reported. Seven observers were kidnapped; the IDF later rescued one, Ori Megidish, and the body of another, Noa Marciano, who was killed in captivity. The other five, Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Daniela Gilboa and Naama Levy, were released in the framework of the present hostage deal.
In a shocking video of their abduction, the Nahal Oz female soldiers appeared bloody and wounded as Hamas abducted them into Gaza, in documentation that has come to symbolize the gender-based violence that occurred on October 7. One of the Hamas terrorists taunted the female soldiers in the video, “Here are the girls, women who can get pregnant. These are the Zionists. You are so beautiful.” Released hostage Karina Ariev told the Jerusalem Post that she was sexually harassed in Hamas captivity and that it only stopped after she threatened to report one of her captors to his commander, who prohibited such actions. All of the female IDF observers were forced to cook, clean and take care of their captors children, while barely getting any food themselves. According to the Jewish Chronicle, Hamas also forced the female IDF observers to watch videos of the male captives getting tortured.
Prior to October 7th, the female IDF observers at Nahal Oz were warning of suspicious activity. The Maariv daily reported that the women were already speaking up about strange activity on the border as early as May 2023, when they witnessed part of a large-scale, all-day Hamas drill that likely served as preparation for the October 7 attack. Throughout that summer, Hamas terrorists were observed gathering less than half a mile from the border, Hadassah Magazine reported.
In an interview with KAN public broadcasting, two surviving Nahal Oz IDF observer soldiers, Yael Rotenberg and Maya Desiatnik, shared their experiences leading up to that fateful day. According to the report, Rotenberg recalled seeing many Palestinians dressed in civilian clothing approach the border fence with maps, examining the area and digging holes. Despite reporting these activities, she was told by her superiors they were farmers and not to worry.
Desiatnik described how, in the months leading up to the attack, Hamas terrorists trained at the border fence, increasing their frequency from once a week to nearly nonstop. She documented their training, which included driving tanks and even crossing the border into Israel, Hadassah Magazine reported. As border activity intensified, she sensed that an attack was imminent, but no one listened, she said. “We saw what was happening, we told them about it, and we were the ones who were murdered,” Desiatnik told KAN. Eyal Eshel, the father of Roni Eshel, who was murdered on the Nahal Oz base, told Hadassah Magazine: “No one listened to them. No one took care of them. These were nobody’s soldiers.”
Roni Lifschitz, a former IDF female observer, told Hadassah Magazine that she believes the women were not taken seriously because of both their gender and their rank. “We were 18- and 19-year-old girls,” she said. “Even though we know the whole area perfectly and could tell you about it in our sleep, we were not considered high enough ranked, so they did not listen. They liked to belittle us.”
According to the Jerusalem Post, the purpose of holding the “our voices are heard” event in honor of the slain female IDF observers from Nahal Oz was to raise awareness about the unheard female voice and the importance of listening to women in society. The goal of the event was to recognize the important work that these brave young women did, while also expressing sorrow over the fact that their voices were silenced, the Jerusalem Post noted. According to the report, the event organizers are hoping in the future that women’s voices will never be silenced again.
