October 16, 2025
The General Staff Forum Held a Memorial Ceremony at the Nahal Oz Base Marking Two Years Since the October 7th Massacre
“The IDF faces the failure of October 7th, yet at the same time looks toward the future and toward hope; from within the battles emerged many stories of heroism that we must honor, and therefore we will establish the “Citation for Excellence Committee”.
A memorial ceremony was held today (Thursday) at the Nahal Oz base marking two years since the October 7th massacre.
The memorial ceremony was held with the participation of the General Staff Forum alongside Yiska Steinberg, the widow of the late former Nahal Brigade commander, COL Yonatan Steinberg.
At 06:29, the General Staff Forum stood for a minute of silence in memory of those who fell on October 7th and in the “Swords of Iron” War.
Afterward, the forum was presented with the sequence of events of the battle at the Nahal Oz base by COL Ido Kass, who led the inquiry of the battle.
Later on, members of the General Staff Forum took part in a panel moderated by the The Head of the Personnel Directorate, MG Dado Bar Kalifa, under the theme “Memory, Responsibility, Heroism, and Hope.” The panel included CPT Bar Zonshine, who commanded and fought in the battles in the communities near the Gaza Strip; Ashira Greenberg, the widow of the late former commander of the 13th Battalion, LTC Tomer Greenberg; Deputy Civilian Security Coordinator of Nahal Oz, Nissan Dekalo; and former hostages Chen and Agam Goldstein-Almog.
From the remarks of the Chief of the General Staff, LTG Eyal Zamir: “On this day, we face head-on the failure of October 7th and look forward toward our future. We bow our heads before the civilians, commanders, and troops who bravely gave their lives. Our commitment is to continue accompanying the bereaved families, the troops, the wounded, both in body and in spirit, as well as the survivors of captivity. In addition, we will not rest and will not be silent until we bring back the last of the fallen hostages; this is a moral duty for us.”
Out of our commitment, we have conducted inquiries into the battles and presented them to the communities. We continue to study, evaluate, and implement the lessons learned. The IDF will not repeat the mistakes of the past.
From the rupture and the loss also arose many stories of heroism that we must honor, and therefore we will establish the Decorations Committee.
Thanks to the determined combat of all the commanders and soldiers, we have achieved great successes that have brought us to our current situation and position of strength; we now hold controlling areas that allow us to return to combat at any moment, if required.
The campaign is not yet over - we are ready for many challenges ahead. It is the IDF’s duty to emerge from the past two years toward growth, renewal, and hope.”
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