Almost four months after her dramatic rescue from Hamas captivity in Gaza, Corporal Ori Magidish returns to military service. Magidish, 19, was to return on Monday to her position in the Israel Defense Forces as a reconnaissance soldier.
More stories:
Magidish was rescued in a military operation conducted by the IDF and the Shin Bet 23 days after being abducted on October 7 by Hamas terrorists from the Nahal Oz outpost, where she served as a reconnaissance soldier. The IDF stated that her decision to return to service was made of her own volition and "a sense of duty to serve the country."
Last week, Magidish met with American donors and told them about what happened at the Nahal Oz base on October 7. "There was a lot of loud noise, we woke up from it, and all the girls wanted to find shelter. We said goodbye to our families on the phone, and after some time we heard yelling and sounds of gunfire."
"There were combat soldiers in the armored vehicle who defended us with their weapons, but it wasn't enough," she told the donors. "There were 20 combat soldiers and only four weapons. My head, legs and chest were injured by the grenades thrown by the terrorists. There was a moment of quiet and then they entered and shot into the shelter."
With her mother sitting beside her, Magidish said: "Out of 20 girls, only seven survived the shooting, and I was one of them. Then we waited there for another four hours. We didn't know where the army was, but still, we waited for someone to come and rescue us. Nothing happened, and then they simply abducted us."
Magidish told the donors that five of her friends from the Nahal Oz base were abducted to the Gaza Strip, and one of them was killed in captivity. "Noa Marciano was my best friend at the base. She was killed in captivity, and IDF soldiers brought back her body," she said.