staff sergeant Shirel Haim Pour

Daughter of Tzemeret and Eliezer

Sister of Nathaniel, Barak and Lior

Shirel was born in Rishon Lezion, as the youngest daughter of her parents. Her brother Barak said in interviews that it was a challenge for Shirel to grow up as a girl alongside three male brothers and that it toughened her up.
Shirel studied Arabic in high school. She chose this major due to her great interest in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. She planned to study international relations at the university and even enrolled in an Arabic studies course as part of her preparations for this course of studies.
Shirel planned to travel in London with her best friend after her discharge and she already had plane tickets for December 2023. She did not get to make this trip.

Shirel joined the IDF on October 19, 2021 and served as an operations sergeant at the Nahal Oz outpost. She saw this position as her calling. She put effort into her resonsibilities and extended her shifts out of a sense of resonsibility, professionalism and striving for excellence. A month before her discharge, in September 2023, she was awarded a certificate of excellence by the division commander.

Soldiers who served with her in Nahal Oz said that she was the "Queen of Nahal Oz", she was a good company full of energy and joy.

The "Black Sabbath" on October 7, 2023 was supposed to be Shirel's last Shabbat spent in the base before being discharged. She finished her shift on Friday evening but decided to stay at the operations room until three AM to help the soldiers on their shift.
When the alarms started on Saturday morning, Shirel ran with her friends to the mobile shelter while she was dressed in civilian clothes. When she realized the magnitude of the event, she decided on her own discretion to leave the shelter and enter the operations room to help coordinating the combating forces. She ran towards the operations room while live fire and rockets are fired all around her.
When she arrived safely at the operations room, Shirel began her shift which lasted several hours. In her reports, she provided data on the terrorist attack and directed forces to the area. The IDF has recordings of her reports that show that she functioned professionally and calmly during those difficult hours.
Shirel informed her family at 10:53 on Saturday morning that she is safe in the operations room. At this point, the situation at the base was already difficult and she probably wanted to reassure the family with this message.
The battle outside the operations roomlasted about fifty minutes. The terrorists could be heard with their voices through the door of the operations room. When the terrorists found out that they were unable to capture the operations room, they set it on fire.
Shire gave her life in the battle for the Nahal Oz outpost and fell bravely. Thanks to her great courage and resourcefulness, she was able to assist the IDF forces in combat and thus saved the lives of many.

Shirel's family mambers described her as smart and modest, with a pleasant manner, a girl who respected others and helped anyone who needed help.
She found great value in excellence and strove for it in everything she did.
Shirel was a good friend and had a sense of humor.

Shirel loved animals and volunteered in animal rights initiatives.
Shirel loved to travel the world, stay in luxurious hotels, eat in restaurants and experience "decadent" desserts.
She loved learning new languages.
Her favorite song was "Red Sunsets" by Israeli singer Eden Hasson.

Shirel's grandfather eulogized her at her funeral in Persian. His words were published around the world and the family members received condolences from many Iranian expatriates.

Graffiti artists painted Shirel's image in Kiryat Al-Melacha in Tel Aviv. Images are available in the link below.

A commemorative page in her memory with a photograph of a ceremony held in her memory with the participation of soldiers appears here.