The curls, the smile and endless generosity: The story of Sgt. Shir Biton
Sgt. Shir Biton, a soldier in the Medical Corps, was killed on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023, during the heroic battle at the Nahal Oz military outpost. She was just 19 years old, a young woman full of life, smiles and light, who devoted her short life to helping others and saving lives.
'Pocahontas' with curly hair
Shir was born and raised in Ashdod. Her mother, Ori, remembers a sweet, beautiful and exceptionally sociable little girl. "They used to call her Pocahontas. She had a sweet face and curly hair that was her trademark." Her father, Assaf, recalls with a smile how much her curls preoccupied her as a child. She would go to kindergarten wearing headbands and ribbons to make her hair appear longer. Shir was a child everyone loved. Even in kindergarten, her teacher told her mother that Shir was a particular favorite because of her natural charm and remarkable social skills.
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Within the family, Shir was the middle child who brought her siblings together. Her relationship with her brother Liad, which began with the classic cat-and-mouse squabbles of childhood, developed into a deep, everyday friendship as they grew older. She spent long hours at home with her sister Avia, sharing secrets and cooking together. One of the family's most vivid memories of Shir is the way she would emerge from her bedroom and head toward the kitchen, never simply walking, but dancing the cha-cha-cha, hip-hop or jazz, styles she had loved since childhood.
An outstanding student and devoted volunteer
Alongside her joyful, carefree spirit, Shir was an exceptional perfectionist who loved learning. "For her, a grade of 95 was reason enough to take the exam again," her brother Liad recalls. Even during family vacations in Eilat, while everyone else enjoyed the pool, Shir insisted on staying in the hotel room to study. She graduated from high school with highest honors and an outstanding academic record.
Shir channeled her enormous compassion into volunteering with Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel's national emergency medical service, beginning at age 15. She regarded giving to others and helping those in need as fundamental values. As her military enlistment approached, Shir refused to compromise. She wanted to serve as a medic, and specifically with a regional brigade, so she could work in the field aboard an ambulance rather than inside a medical clinic.
That determination brought her to the Gaza regional brigade at the Nahal Oz outpost. She loved the sense of purpose her service gave her and devoted herself wholeheartedly to the role, despite the demanding work, long hours and difficult scenes she encountered as a 19-year-old.
Courage in her final moments
On the morning of Saturday, Oct. 7, Shir was stationed at the outpost for a weekend of operational duty. When the rocket attacks began at 6:29 a.m., her family in Ashdod tried unsuccessfully to reach her. At 6:50 a.m., Shir sent her mother a voice message from a friend's phone: "Mom, I don't know what's happening here. We'll figure it out soon." Heavy bursts of gunfire could already be heard in the background.
Shir and her fellow soldiers ran to a fortified shelter, where terrorists threw grenades inside. Despite the chaos and danger, Shir managed to reach the shelter's entrance and escape to the living quarters to retrieve her personal weapon. When a terrorist entered the room, Shir, a young woman standing just 5 feet tall, handled her weapon with extraordinary courage and presence of mind, firing at the terrorist and killing him.
After long hours of uncertainty and desperate searching, the family learned that their worst fears had come true. Shir had been killed in battle.
Carrying on Shir's mission
In the depths of their grief, Shir's parents, Ori and Assaf, chose to honor her legacy through the organization that had become her second home: Magen David Adom. The family raised donations to fund five ambulances in Shir's name, including one mobile intensive care unit and four standard ambulances. A training program for adult volunteer medics was also established in her memory, named the "Shir Course."
In an extraordinary and deeply moving decision, Ori and Assaf enrolled in the course themselves. For an entire year, they attended classes and underwent intensive training, learning from instructors whom Shir herself had once mentored. Today, the bereaved parents work shifts as medics, saving lives aboard ambulances that bear their daughter's name. "We are carrying out her mission and our own," her mother says. "Shir's spirit is there with us all the time."
Sgt. Shir Biton left behind a remarkable legacy of courage, professionalism, generosity and an unwavering belief in the sanctity of life. That legacy lives on with every ambulance dispatched and every life saved in her memory.
Sgt. Shir Biton, of the Medical Corps, was killed in action on Oct. 7, 2023, at the age of 19.
May her memory be a blessing.
Sergeant
Shir Biton