Parents’ Greatest Nightmare

Noa Marciano was 19 when she was murdered by a civilian medic in Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza. The “healthcare professional” deliberately injected air into her veins to cause an embolism, which can cause chest pain, dizziness, confusion, weakness, vision problems and, ultimately, a fatal stroke or heart failure.

Her torturous death was gleefully filmed by Gazans. In the video, Noa can be seen begging for her life. Then, the clip shows her sweat-drenched, lifeless body.

That horrific video was sent to her father, Avi, via Telegram.

Noa was among seven female soldiers taken captive alive into Gaza from the Nahal Oz military base on October 7, 2023. One of them, Ori Megidish, was rescued by IDF forces at the end of October 2023, and five – Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy – were released as part of a temporary ceasefire deal in January 2025. Noa’s body was recovered by IDF forces in mid-November 2023 outside the hospital where she was murdered.

Fifteen members of Noa’s unit, also women, were murdered by Gazan jihadists in the initial assault. In total, Nahal Oz lost 53 soldiers and officers, out of a total of 162 stationed at the base.

Avi Marciano said that what he experienced “is the greatest nightmare I know of for any person to go through.” The video of his daughter’s last moments is seared into his mind.

Let Noa’s story be seared into your minds, as well. She was murdered by a medical worker.

A civilian.

In a hospital.

In the heart of Gaza.

Noa’s Life

We owe it to her and her family to also remember Noa’s life.

The eldest daughter of Adi and Avi, and sister to Yuval, Hadar and Itay, Noa was born on October 12, 2004 in Modiin. She loved people and loved her country, with an infectious optimism and a cultivated appreciation for the world around her.

The most concrete expression of those character traits is perhaps her personal “gratitude journal,” in which she wrote notes like this:

“Thank you for optimism, thank you for laughter, thank you for the friends I have met and will meet, thank you for the fact that I know my country. Thank you.”

And this:

“Thank you for the ability to rejoice and bring joy.”

That sense of thankfulness combined with a sensitivity to others made Noa one of the only students who knew the school security guard by name and who greeted him daily. She did the same for the street cleaner near her house, for whom she also sometimes prepared a cup of hot coffee on cold mornings.

Alongside her kindness to people, Noa had a deep love for her nation. This led her to excel as a counselor in the Shelach youth movement, which focuses on educating school-age students about Israel’s heritage, nature and society through hikes, field trips and community volunteering.

On a permanent tribute plaque in a local park, Noa’s family wrote that her “life was a tapestry woven with devotion, love and a deep connection to her roots. The location of Modiin provided Noa with a setting that gave her deep inspiration and solid foundations for values ​​and love for the country’s trails, and from a young age she already embodied this spirit. She adored the trails of Israel, walked the length and breadth of the land, inhaled the smells of the earth and touched the stones that told stories of thousands of years.”

A memorial for Noa in Modiin

Noa’s family and friends have established a café, HaHatzer Shel Nuni (“Nuni’s Yard”), in an effort to perpetuate her spirit, bringing people together and serving the sort of food she loved, surrounded by nature.

Noa’s mother, Adi, said this at her funeral:

“We were blessed with the immense privilege of raising a daughter like you. Principled and wise, modest and beautiful, pure and radiant. A child of music and books, of nature and journeys, of family and friends, of love and life, of dimples and smiles. It is no coincidence that your WhatsApp slogan was ‘Smile like there’s no tomorrow’.”

May the memory of Noa Marciano, and all the victims of jihadist terrorism around the world, be forever a blessing.