Captain Eden Nimri

Daughter of Sharon Yael and Michael
Sister of Hadar (27 years old) and Noga (20 years old)

Eden was born in Tel Aviv and grew up in the city of Modi'in. As a child, she attended the "Yhad Modiin" school, which combines religious and secular studies, until the 8th grade.
She was a curious and persistent child and was interested in many fields. Therefore, she participated in a wide variety of classes such as ballet, jazz, chess, photography, theater and swimming.
Since young age, Eden was gifted with charisma and leadership skills. In the 4th and 5th grades, she competed for the student council's presidency but was not elected. She had a determined character, and these failures did not hold her back one bit. She ran again in the 6th grade and then was elected to be the chairperson of the student council. She took her election for the role seriously and it was important for her to leave her mark.
Eden loved to swim and participated since the age of six in swimming classes in the "Maccabi Reut Water Park" association. When her swimming became professional beyond the level of the teenage class, it required her to put in time and effort. At this point, Eden chose to abandon her other extracurricular activities she attended and focus her time and energies in the field of swimming, which she loved so much. At her peak she was a competitive swimmer in the Israeli national team until the age of 19. Her strongest styles were 100 and 200 meter backstroke, 200 and 400 meter individual medley and "open water" swims for 5 km and 10 km .
In the 10th grade, Eden moved to study at "Mor" High School, which is close to her home and the swimming pool where she trained. The training regime at this stage was intense and she was required to train nine times a week.
While focusing on swimming, Eden continued in her youth to develop her talents in other fields. She was an outstanding student and joined the "Bar-Ilan" program intended for talented youth in mathematics. She put a lot of efforts in her studies and majored in physics, mathematics and high proficiency English. She also managed to preserve her love for the theater in the theater major at the high school where she studied.

Eden enlisted in the IDF on January 5, 2020, and served in the artillery corps.
Before her enlistment, Eden planned to ask the army to recognize her as an outstanding athlete like many of her friends who were engaged in professional swimming. She considered a career path in swimming, which involved moving to the US after her discharge and accepting a swimming scholarship at an American college. But after she was summoned to the preparatory track for the air force pilot training program, she changed her plans and her priorities and chose to serve in the army in a position that would allow her to contribute and use her skills. She joined the air force pilot training program and participated in it for several months. She later moved to the Artillery Corps, where she was trained as a fighter and team leader in the "Sky Rider" unit.

Eden was a fighter in the "Sky Rider" elite unit. She and her team served on the northern border, but arrived on Wednesday, October 4, 2023, at the Nahal Oz outpost on the Gaza border to replace a team that went on holiday vacation.
On Saturday, October 7 2023, the murderous terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas was carried out.
At half past six in the morning, loud noises of rocket fire were heard. Eden and her team ran with pajamas and weapons to the shelter adjacent to the female soldiers' quarters. In this shelter, there were already about thirty unarmed female soldiers of the Border Protection Corps and of the Gaza Division, among which were field observers, operation sergeant, medics and ICT and data collection soldiers whom she did not know. Eden realized that only she and her team were armed, and took command of the shelter's defense. She positioned herself in the doorway from which the terrorists were supposed to enter and positioned the four female fighters in the doorway closest to the quarters. One of the survivors explained this move:
"What she did is simply the greatest self-sacrifice possible. Even if she didn't know exactly what was happening, she went alone in the direction of the shots, of the screams in Arabic. Eden instructed the soldiers to cock their guns and always keep a bullet in the barrel and arranged firing directions that will allow to protect the shelter from all sides. Meanwhile, she calmed down the soldiers in the shelter. At around a quarter to eight in the morning, a terrorist tried to enter the shelter through the opening that Eden was covering.
She and the other female fighters shot him and killed him. At this point it was clear that the terrorists would try to re-enter the shelter. Just as she planned, Eden drew the fire to her and to the shelter's opening where she was found in order to distract the terrorists from the other opening, thus creating an opportunity for the soldiers to escape from the place. A group of terrorists stormed the opening where Eden was located, shooting and throwing grenades. The terrorists encountered backfire from Eden that was ready for them. Under the cover of the smoke and Eden's fire, seven soldiers and four "Sky Rider" fighters escaped from the shelter. They managed to run to the quarters and hid there. They waited for about seven hours until paratroopers and artillerymen rescued them.

Captain Eden Nimri was killed in battle on Saturday, October 7, 2023, in the battle of Nahal Oz outpost. With her great bravery and sacrifice, she saved the lives of 11 IDF soldiers.

Eden was a "bookworm" since kindergarten. At the age of five, kindergarten teacher Adi Levy got a library card for the children and told them that whoever reads ten books will receive a "bookworm" medal made of cardboard. Eden, who loved challenges, declared that she would read a hundred books and not just ten. And that she did. She read a book every day. When she reached the hundredth book, her parents bought her a real gold medal and she was full of pride for having met the task she had set for herself.

The Foundation for Zionist Leadership published the story of Eden on October 25, 2023. Below are excerpts from it:

""#A generation not less great than the independence war generation
Captain Eden Nimri, 22 years old from Modi'in:
Eden Nimri, an outstanding swimmer and member of Israel's youth swimming team, met the criteria to be recognized as an outstanding athlete, but preferred significant military service and enlisted in a air force pilot's course.
After withdrawing from the course, she volunteered for the elite unit 'Sky Rider', which operates operational drones collecting operational intelligence in the service of the front-line combat units.
She served as a fighter and then as an officer in the role of a team leader. Her soldiers describe an excellent officer, competitive on the one hand but caring and devoted to service and soldiers on the other hand, outstandingly clever, broad-minded, ethical, professional, possessing all the beautiful aspects of the Land of Israel.
On Shabbat Simchat Torah, the soldiers in the soldiers' quarters at the Nahal Oz base were awakened around seven o'clock by the sound of a commotion on the outpost.
The female field observers were neither combatants nor armed. Eden and her four female warriors leapt into the shelter with their personal weapons.
Shortly, the battle began to take place inside the outpost, near the shelter where the soldiers were huddled. The outpost's announcement system went from calling 'color red' to calling 'raid, raid'.
Inside the shield, Eden made eye contact with her female warriors and then loaded her weapon and cocked it. The fighters did the same, in a move that in retrospect changed the outcome of the battle...
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The saying "Men who walk first shall fall" was said almost 90 years ago by Haim Sturman, a man from the Jezreel Valley, about his friend Moshe Rosenfeld who was murdered by the Ezz ad-Din al-Qassam gang during a chase after the terrorists.
Women who walk first shall also fall, and unfortunately they are always the best.
In her memory
#A Moment of Zionism"

A Moment of Zionism

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Eden was commemorated in many ways which are documented on the commemorative site in her memory established by her family. Family website link.

Among the commemorative activities that have been done in her memory so far from a multitude of diverse activities: the children's triathlon in Modiin (April 6, 2024), the Modiin race (April 5, 2024), a march from Kibbutz Alumim in memory of the fallen men and women at the Nahal Oz outpost (March 15, 2024), the dedication of the triathlon race trophy in her memory (March 22, 2024), a memorial activity at the schools where she attended, tree plantings on behalf of the Keren Kayemet foundation, a special ceremony in her memory organized by the Swimming Association in the Wingate institute (December 23, 2023), a memorial service at the Reut water park (November 24, 2023), and a tree was planted in her memory at Tse'elim base (23 in November 2023).

A commemorative ceremony for naming an alleyway after Eden was held in Reut on February 9, 2024. The alleyway is located near 33 Omer boulevard in Reut, on the road between her childhood home and the pool where she so loved to swim. The ceremony was held in the presence of family members, her parents Michael and Sharon, brothers and friends, the mayor, council members and many residents who came to pay their respects. Eden was supposed to be discharged from the IDF on the day the alleyway was inaugurated.

Eden's story was published around the world, in news releases and swimming websites. Below are links to publications, from the family website in her memory.

Her story on the I24 news website

Her story on the Twitter account of I24NEWS Francais

Her story on the international swimming news website