English >> About Eden > In Memory > In The Media > The Battle
Eden was a competitive swimmer and thought of serving the IDF as an outstanding athlete but when she was accepted for IDF pilot's course she decided she wants a significant service in the IDF. In Jan 2020 she joined the pilot course and after a few months she moved-on to the Artillery Corps and was trained and served as a fighter and team commander Officer in the Sky Rider unit (Rochash) – an Elite fighting unit that flies drones.
Eden and her team (4 female fighters) served at the nothern border but arrived on Wednesday Oct4 at the Nahal Oz outpost on the Gaza border, in order to replace a team that went on a Simchat Torah vacation. Saturday morning, October 7, 2023, the Hamas terror organization launched a surprise attack against Israel. On that day, Capt. Eden Nimri of blessed memory was serving in the “Skyrider” fighters unit (Rochash team), which operates UAVs to accompany special forces in the field. She was at the Nahal Oz post, about 500 yards from the border with Gaza.
When she heard the siren, Eden took her team (4 female fighters) into a concrete Safe Area ('Migunit'), where they found 24 (total 29) unarmed female soldiers of the Border Protection Corps and of the Gaza Division (lookouts, medics, Communication, intelligence and more), whom she did not know. Only the Rochash fighters team was armed
From the explosions echoing near the post, and from the announcement, Eden understood that terrorists had managed to penetrate. She took command of the Migunit without her uniforms and ranks, only in her pajamas, with her weapon, her Natural leadership and Charisma
The Migunit had two openings, and while 'commanding from the front' Eden positioned herself in the doorway close to the entrance from which the terrorists would employ (As described by one of the survivors: "What she did was simply the greatest self-sacrifice possible. Even if she didn't know exactly what was going on, she walked alone in the direction of the shots and the shouting in Arabic."). She positioned her team of 4 fighters to move near the other opening. Eden calmed down the female soldiers and directed her fighters without speaking (only with hand ignals) to put a bullet in the barrel and directed them about firing directions to protect the Migunit . In this way, Eden set a trap for the terrorists.
At around 7:45 , The first terrorists entered through the opening that Eden anticipated while shooting indiscriminately with the aim of killing. Thanks to the trap set by Eden the first terrorists were killed. Additional terrorists approached and threw grenades at the Migunit, and Eden protected the other soldiers with her body and remained to fight taking the worst of the attack, while managing to return fire and and when the ammunition ran out, she fought them with her bare hands.
Eden gained precious time, allowing 11 female soldiers (4 Rochash fighters and 7 others) to run from the Migunit to the rooms where they hid and waited about 7 hours until they were rescued alive. In addition, 7 female lookouts soldiers were kidnapped by the terrorists from the Migunit (6 returned alive and 1 did not survive)
When Liri Elbag returned from captivity, she said: "Eden is who I remember next to me on Oct 7… As soon as the talk about a raid started, Eden said 'there must be a weapon in the shelter'… Eden was our 'protector', she stood in front to protect the others… We started hearing Arabic and it's getting closer. Eden immediately loaded the weapon and a gunfight started and grenades were thrown into the shelter… Eden had one goal: to protect, to rescue, to save… Every time she waited to see if a terrorist entered, she wouldn't just shoot … until Eden ran out of ammunition… She fought the terrorist with her bare hands and then he shot her… "
Eden fell in battle, out of 29 soldiers who were in the Migonit 17 remained alive. Eden, a swimmer who could have served under the special conditions of an outstanding Athlete, had volunteered instead for a piloting course and then chosen to serve in the elite “Skyrider” unit. May she rest in peace
English >> About Eden > In Memory > In The Media > The Battle