Families of lookout soldiers killed at the Nahal Oz outpost during the October 7 massacre expressed frustration Monday night after the IDF provided partial audio recordings of their daughters’ final hours in the control room.
The families, who fought for months to obtain the recordings, were dismayed to find they included only a few hours of audio, with some soldiers’ voices missing entirely. The recordings, intended to document the soldiers’ final shifts, fell short of the families' expectations, deepening their grief.
Adv. Gilad Yitzhak Bar-Tal, who represents families of the fallen lookout soldiers, said: "The IDF handed over partial recordings only. The frustration and heartbreak are immense and unbearable. Sadly, the IDF continues to treat families of the lookout soldiers in a disgraceful manner."
Adv. Bar-Tal explained that after IDF announced it would share the recordings, it delivered only partial documentation from Friday, October 6, until around 6:30 p.m., alongside a few seconds from 4:47 a.m. on Saturday, October 7. "All other recordings, including those from Friday night into Saturday and the morning of the attack, were not provided to families," he said. "To clarify, the Supreme Court petition will still proceed. The IDF’s conduct, along with these partial recordings, will not lead to withdrawal of the petition."
Demonstrations of lookouts in Tel Aviv
(Video: Courtesy)
Yigal, father of lookout soldier Hadar Cohen, who was killed at the outpost, shared his frustration with Ynet: "We received recordings from the morning of October 6 until that evening, and that’s it. Hadar was on duty from 8 p.m. until midnight," he said, explaining that her voice was absent from the recordings entirely.
"This is very disappointing," Yigal said. "We waited so long for this and feel extremely let down. We didn’t hear Hadar at all in the recordings—they end before her shift even began. We were waiting to hear her voice, but they didn’t tell us what we would hear, and now we know she isn’t included."
"It’s incredibly strange, an unbearable heartbreak—it feels unreal," he added, describing his emotions. "It’s inconceivable that, right before such an attack, no trace of their communication remains. We feel like things are being hidden from us."
Eyal, father of lookout soldier Roni Eshel, shared that his family has not yet received the recordings but, based on conversations with other families, he understood their disappointment. "We will receive the recordings tomorrow afternoon during Yael’s graduation ceremony as an infantry instructor," he wrote on X. "From conversations with other families of lookout soldiers, a grim and very disappointing picture emerges. I promise to update you all after hearing my Roni’s recordings. Thank you all for your support during this complex time."
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Families of fallen IDF lookouts protesting outside President Herzog's home
(Photo: Gil Yochanan)
On early Tuesday, the IDF addressed the complaints of bereaved families after the release of the recordings, saying, "The recordings were provided after an in-depth review and thorough mapping of communication frequencies from the lookout control rooms in the 24 hours leading up to October 7 and the outbreak of the attack."
The statement emphasized that, as explained to the families when the recordings were handed over, "The recordings provided contain only the voices of their loved ones."
The IDF further stressed its commitment to the bereaved families, saying, "The IDF will not withhold any information from them. Following the families’ request, an additional review is now underway."
In September, the families of the lookout soldiers filed a Supreme Court petition, submitted by parents of the fallen lookout soldiers Adi Landman, Maya Vyalkov-Polo, Shirat Yam Amar, Shai Asheram, Hadar Miriam Cohen, Aviv Hajaj, Shachaf Nisani, Roni Eshel, Shirel Mor, Yam Glass and Noa Marciano—who was abducted from the outpost on October 7 and later murdered in Hamas captivity in Gaza.
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Parents requested access to communication recordings capturing their daughters’ voices during the 24 hours preceding the massacre or their final shifts. "We never imagined we would reach a point where we must petition the Supreme Court against the army," families said at the time. "This is a very difficult and sad day for us, and we hope the Supreme Court will stand by us and instruct the chief of staff and military authorities to allow us access to the voices and footage of our daughters."
Following a lengthy process, the military said, "The IDF updated families of lookout soldiers and control room operators who were killed in the Hamas attack on Nahal Oz outpost on October 7, 2023, that it is prepared to provide communication recordings from the 24 hours prior to their deaths. These recordings allow families to hear their loved ones’ voices, as previously reported to the Supreme Court, and following agreement by all families to receive the recordings. Recordings will be provided soon, in coordination with the families. The IDF extends condolences to bereaved families and will continue to support them."