Families of female IDF soldiers killed on Oct 7 struggle for right to receive audio of daughters’ last moments

Israel Defense Forces on Monday complied with a High Court order to provide their families with audio recordings from the IDF female field observers at the Nahal Oz outpost, most of whom were killed or kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023.

The case caused considerable controversy, as it involved heavy accusations by the families of the female soldiers who said the IDF hadn’t done enough to protect them during the Hamas invasion.

The field observers are an all-female unit tasked with monitoring surveillance cameras along the country’s borders. They are based close to the corresponding borders but are usually unarmed and trained as combat fighters.

As the Nahal Oz outpost was overrun on the morning of Oct. 7, Hamas terrorists killed 15 field observers, most of whom perished when their command center was set on fire. Later, terrorists were filmed capturing and abusing seven female soldiers who were taken into captivity. One was rescued alive, while the body of Noa Marciano was recovered later.

The controversy is about to continue, as the families’ attorney, Gilad Yitzhak Bar-Tal, said the IDF only handed over partial recordings. He vowed that he would return to court to sue the army until it handed over all available recordings.

“The IDF only transferred partial recordings to the families of the observers. The mental anguish is immense and unbearable. Unfortunately, the IDF continues to behave contemptuously towards the observers’ families, and after announcing this evening that they would transfer the recordings requested by the families, the IDF transferred partial recordings,” Bar-Tal said.

He said the IDF provided recordings from Oct. 6 until around 6:30 p.m., and short snippets from the morning of Oct. 7, while footage from the night leading up to the invasion was not included.

“We would like to clarify: the petition will be heard before the judges of the High Court of Justice. The conduct of the IDF, and these partial recordings, will not lead to the petition being dismissed,” Bar-Tal stressed.

In response, IDF officials told Army Radio, “The segments that were not handed over are recordings in which the observers are not heard, but fighters are heard, which due to the protection of their privacy, we cannot give these parts to the families of the observers.”

In September, the families had asked to receive the IDF’s internal communication recordings of their daughters from the day before the invasion or each of their last shifts.

“We didn’t think we would have to come to this moment when we are submitting a petition to the High Court against the army,” the families said at the time.

In response, Israeli President Isaac Herzog renewed his call for a state inquiry into the events of Oct. 7.

“The cries of the families of the surveillance soldiers and many other bereaved families who have turned to me breaks my heart and sharpens the need to convene a state commission of inquiry according to the law,” he stated.

The government has refused these calls so far, arguing that this should only be done after the war has ended.

“It is imperative to restore trust in the state and the security apparatus, among other things, through a thorough investigation and study of the failure and terrible disaster of October 7 in a reliable and independent manner, which will lead to drawing national lessons, taking responsibility, drawing conclusions, and building trust between citizens and our beloved State of Israel,” Herzog emphasized.

Despite announcing another court petition, the family of soldier Shai Ashram was thankful to be able to hear their daughter’s voice again.

“We heard her reporting on her last shift, on Friday, Oct. 6 in the morning, as she did professionally and in an exact way throughout her service. We heard her laughing, after the last time we talked to her, we had heard her crying and scared on the morning of Oct. 7. It's a shame for us that we got to hear her voice only after a struggle of more than a year, including a petition to the High Court.”

The Ashram family added, “The most important thing now is to bring back Shai’s girlfriends from captivity: Liri, Agam, Daniela, Karina and Naama and all the hostages from captivity.”

“We demand that the army present the investigations to us immediately and we demand that a state commission of inquiry be appointed. This is the least we deserve. The little that our heroine observers deserve.”