Yesterday, the IDF handed over to the families of the female observers who were murdered and kidnapped from the Nahal Oz base the soldiers' communication recordings from the hours leading up to the October 7 massacre - and today (Tuesday), 'Kan News' obtained some of the recordings of Sergeant Shai Ashram, who was given to the family. Additional recordings will be broadcast tonight on 'Kan News'.
The recordings, which were transferred after a prolonged struggle, end at 4:56 a.m. - about an hour and a half before the breach into the outpost.
Shai, who was murdered in the attack, is the daughter of Sara (Shari) and Dror. She was born on Elul 20, 5764 in Rehovot. She is the daughter of her parents' elders, and the younger sister of Aral, Tehila and Shahar.
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""We heard Shai giggling like she used to do all the time. The last laugh, her rolling laugh," said her father Dror Ashram, in an interview with the program 'Kalman Lieberman' on Channel 2. "It's joy mixed with sadness. I hear my daughter laugh for the last time.".
Ashram questions the integrity of the recordings that were transferred to the families: "It doesn't make sense that at 4:56 there are no more broadcasts until 6:30, where they broadcast the invasion of the base. My daughter saw a cat walking by the fence - so it doesn't make sense that it took them half an hour and 20 minutes when they were 3-4 kilometers from the fence.".
The recordings that were transferred to the families were delivered as relevant segments, in which the voices of their loved ones are heard with the time at which the conversation took place on the phone, and it is not a recording that is cut off at a certain point.
Listen to recordings by Shai Ashram:
Exclusive: The recordings of the observer Shai Ashram who fell in Nahal Oz - before October 7th | The full recordings - tonight on Kan News@ShanyWeitzman pic.twitter.com/1sOGwTnSOW
— Here News (@kann_news) December 24, 2024
The IDF responded: "Following the additional examination that was carried out, it was found that between 4:48 and the outbreak of the attack, no voice recordings of female observers were heard, and therefore recordings from these hours were not transmitted in the first place. The IDF shares the grief of the families and will continue to accompany them.".
On October 7, Shai, who was at the base over the weekend, was scheduled to start her shift at 6:30 a.m. She quickly realized the magnitude of the attack, called her parents, begged them to come into the battalion headquarters, and tried to explain to them the gravity of the situation. "Promise me that you will take care of yourselves," she requested, adding that she loved them.
In the background, gunfire could already be heard as dozens of terrorists infiltrated the base.
Over the next two hours, she spoke several times to her parents, her cousin, and her best friend, and said goodbye to everyone. "Take care of yourselves," she told her parents at 8:30 a.m., "I love you, you are the best parents in the world, be strong, take care of my siblings, and tell everyone I love them.".
That was the last conversation with her. Two days later, on Monday evening, the news of her fall was received. Shai was shot by the terrorists while she was in a bunker,
On October 7, the observers Aviv Hajj, Yael Leibshor, Noa Price, Shai Ashram, Hadar Cohen, Roni Eshel, Shahaf Nisni, Shirat Yam Amar, Maya Vialovo Polo, Shiral Mor, Yam Glass, Shira Shohat, Noam Abramowitz, Adi Landman and Shir Eilat were killed at the Nahal Oz outpost. The observer Noa Marciano was kidnapped from the outpost and murdered by Hamas terrorists.
Five observers are still being held captive by Hamas: Karina Ariev, Naama Levy, Liri Elbag, Agam Berger, and Daniela Gilboa. Observer Uri Magidish, who was also kidnapped from the outpost, was rescued by security forces 23 days after her abduction.
Last May, the communication recordings of Sergeant Yael Leibovshor, who was killed in the airstrike that same Saturday, were published online. On the morning of October 7, she was on duty at the airstrike along with her comrades, from where she reported with inconceivable bravery and coolness about the first moments of the war - the bombing of the barrier, the terrorists crossing the fence, and the terrorists entering the airstrike.
The sector to which Yael was assigned was the area closest to the Nahal Oz outpost and the adjacent Kibbutz Nahal Oz. For 25 minutes she reported what she saw, until at 6:54, the Nuhva terrorists penetrated the outpost area - and disabled its observation means. These 25 minutes make clear the depth of the failure, the lack of preparedness and the disregard for the observers' warnings.
