"I'm not a hero, my father was a hero": IDF orphans in a conversation about lives that changed in an instant

Since October 7, 1,011 orphans have been added to the bereaved families of fallen IDF and security forces. A meeting with seven IDF orphans at the "Otzma" camp of the IDF Widows and Orphans Organization, where they finally feel like normal children. The children share their daily struggles, their desire to ease their mothers' burden, and their frustration with societal reactions — "I hate being pitied," "Don't offer support if you don't really mean it."

Since October 7, 1,011 orphans have been added to the families of fallen IDF and security forces personnel. Several hundred of them meet four times a year at the "Otzma" camps of the IDF Widows and Orphans Organization — where no one needs to explain why dad no longer comes to pick them up. The article features a conversation with seven of them: Evyatar, Noga, Yahli, Gaia, Alona, Ya'ala, and Emilia. They share personal memories — a dad who built a sukkah crookedly, a dad who waited by the bed until the children fell asleep, a dad who was the family cook. They talk about wanting to ease their mothers' burden, feeling they grew up too fast, and the difficulty of returning to school — where friends don't always know how to react. "I hate being pitied," says Ya'ala Russo, "If you see me crying — just hug me and don't say anything. Definitely not 'you're a hero,' because I'm not a hero! It was my father who was a hero!"