Eyal Eshel, father of IDF field observer Roni Eshel who was murdered in the Oct. 7 massacre, shared a poignant message on Tuesday on X to mark what would have been his daughter's 21st birthday.
"Today is Roni's birthday, the second birthday without you. Today you should have been celebrating 21," Eshel expressed. "My Roni, we cannot breathe without you. Missing you hurts us every day in every bone in our body. And today, Dad promises you again: you did not die in vain. I will continue to fight alongside all the wonderful families from the October Council so that a state commission of inquiry will certainly be established!"
Roni Eshel served at the Nahal Oz post and was initially listed as missing following the Oct. 7 attacks. In November 2023, after 34 days of uncertainty since being classified as missing, authorities confirmed she had been murdered.
"We held a funeral, Roni was buried, we sat shiva, we said goodbye, but mainly we were left with an enormous void, with pain and with questions that have no answer," her father Eyal said in a previous statement to Israel Hayom. "Roni gave her everything – her strength, her courage, her very life, and while we felt pride in her service, we're now left shattered by this cruel intersection of military duty, tragic fate, and systemic failure."
Roni was one of the soldiers killed while serving at observation posts along the Gaza border during the Hamas attack of Oct. 7, 2023. Her father continues to advocate alongside other families affected by the attack for a state commission of inquiry into the events and security failures of that day.
