Avishag Israel

In an interview published on April 25, 2024, Avishag Israel told We Are in America that she was 30, from Rishon LeZion, and had been a preschool teacher until October 7. She had gone to outdoor parties since she was 16. She was at Nova with Oshri and Shila. Around 6:30 a.m. the music stopped. Her parents called, and she said the group was packing up. A mortar then fell about 100 meters away. It did not explode, she said, but the blast threw people down and her ears stopped working.

They reached the jammed road. Police sent them away from the attackers. When she called friends, she could hear that the attackers were already with them. She saw seven pickup trucks behind the car and told Shila to drive. Rockets fell beside them, and the trucks eventually turned away. A police car stopped the group, then drove toward the attackers. Avishag said those officers were killed. Hours later she reached Rishon LeZion. Her friends were extracted around 9 p.m.

That spring she said she had not returned to work, was sleeping and eating poorly, and had started a support program called Iron Hug. She was in the United States to speak. On the GoFundMe page she organized, with an organizer location of North Miami Beach, she writes that a missile exploded near her and left partial loss of hearing and sight. Both descriptions are hers; they do not match in detail. The fundraiser was created for therapy, rehabilitation, and rebuilding daily life, including a hoped-for return to working with children. On October 11, 2026 the page still showed a donate link. Her work, treatment, and address are not updated here past 2024.