On the morning of October 7 Neomi Shitrit Azulai, Kobi Pariente and Ram Hayun from Sderot went on a morning run in the northern Negev and never thought they’d be ambushed by armed Hamas terrorists.
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The terrorists caught them while they were running between Netiv HaAsara and Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, near the Karmia Nature Reserve. They hid against a concrete structure they found and waited for the rocket fire to stop, all the while filming themselves and sending messages to friends and family. They maintained their optimism until the terrorists started arriving from the direction of the Erez border crossing.
Earlier, paratroopers from the 890th Battalion who were on leave raced to arrive at southern communities close to the border. The first force of paratroopers that encountered the athletes included Staff Sergeant Ilay Gamzu, Daniel Sigal and Itay Ohayun.
Shortly after, another force arrived, comprising Staff Sergeant Itay-Eliyahu Marchiano, Guy Yehuda, Ran Hop, and Maayan Nachmani. They spread out in the area and prepared to engage the terrorists, with Nachmani tasked with accompanying and protecting the civilians they found.
During clashes with the terrorists, two of the soldiers were killed, and Nachmani, who continued to protect civilians, neutralized two terrorists at point-blank range. Naomi was injured from the terrorists' gunfire and died, and Pariente was shot dead while attempting to escape. Hayun was seriously injured but survived. Nachmani was also injured but continued to act.
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Ram Hayun and Neomi Shitrit Azulai, in a picture they took while hiding from Hamas terrorists
"Neomi asked for my phone and called home. She said everything was fine, and she was waiting to be rescued," recounted Nachmani, who met Naomi's son, Captain Ofek Shitrit, an officer in the Air Force, for the first time last weekend, along with Naomi's brother, Lt. Col. (res.) Danny Azulai, a logistics officer in the 98th Division.
Azulai, who was called up for reserve duty on the same Saturday, thought Neomi was fine and there was nothing to worry about. "After she called and said they were waiting to be rescued and that they had soldiers with them, I calmed down somewhat. I only realized that this wasn’t what happened during the evening," he said.
“I took my equipment and went to look for her, but the area was closed off. After many searches and numerous calls, we were told she was murdered," he said. He told Nachmani: "You have something to be proud of. Nothing is taken for granted. I take my hat off to you."
Nachmani described the clashes: "When I was with them, I suddenly felt a hit, but then I realized they shot me. I saw that a ricochet hit Neomi’s neck, and was bleeding out. The terrorists who were heavily armed also threw grenades at us. I was left alone with them after I realized that Marchiano and Gamzu had fallen. I was left with half a magazine and managed to hit the approaching terrorists. I was evacuated after they had all been eliminated."
It was important for Shitrit-Azulai’s family to meet the soldiers who arrived at the scene and acted courageously. "Anyone who thinks these soldiers belong to the TikTok and social media generation is greatly mistaken," Neomi's brother added.
"This is the generation of victory. These are soldiers who ran out of their homes into hell to save civilians while the fog of war was still unclear. They acted heroically. Nachmani and the team of soldiers who fought to defend them are like family to us,” he said.