Noa Marciano, 19: Kidnapped from Nahal Oz, Killed Near Al-Shifa — Her Father's Account of the Video

Noa Marciano was 19 years old. She was an IDF observer — a surveillance and intelligence soldier — stationed at the Nahal Oz base, a small military post adjacent to Kibbutz Nahal Oz on the Gaza border fence. On October 7, 2023, Hamas operatives broke through the fence and overran the base. Noa was wounded in the attack but taken alive into Gaza.

Five weeks later, her body was found by IDF forces near Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City.

Her father, Avi Marciano, said in December 2025 that he had seen video of her last moments. In his account: a person in medical attire is shown injecting air into her veins. Death by air injection — a venous air embolism — is not a combat wound. It is a deliberate act. It requires proximity, a needle, and intention. Performed by someone in medical clothing, at or near a hospital, it is an execution using the instruments of medicine as weapons.

The video has not been made public. The IDF has said she was murdered by a Hamas operative at Al-Shifa; its public findings do not specify air injection, and no independent forensic review has been published.

October 7, 2023: Hamas attacks the Nahal Oz base. Noa Marciano is wounded and taken hostage into Gaza. She is alive when taken.

Weeks 1–5 in captivity: The IDF and her family confirmed she was alive in captivity based on intelligence. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum listed her as a living hostage.

November 9, 2023: Per the IDF and Shin Bet, Noa is wounded (not life-threateningly) in an IDF strike that kills her captors, and is taken to Al-Shifa hospital.

November 13, 2023: Hamas releases a video showing Noa alive and then dead, claiming she was killed in an Israeli airstrike. The IDF calls the video psychological terrorism.

November 14–16, 2023: The IDF declares her dead and, on November 16, recovers her body from a building adjacent to Al-Shifa.

IDF findings: The IDF said her injuries were not consistent with an airstrike and that she was murdered by a Hamas terrorist inside Al-Shifa.

Father's account: Ilan Marciano stated that the IDF showed him video footage. In his account, the footage shows a person in medical clothing injecting air into Noa's veins — a method of deliberate killing. The IDF's forensic findings are described as consistent with this cause of death.

The video: Has not been released publicly. The family has seen it. The IDF has it. It has not been made available to independent forensic review as of the time of writing.

Death by venous air embolism — injecting air directly into a vein — is a known method of deliberate killing. In sufficient volume, air injected intravenously reaches the heart and lungs, blocks blood flow, and causes cardiovascular collapse. It is rapid, requires no specialized equipment beyond a syringe, and leaves no trace that is easily detectable without a forensic autopsy specifically looking for it.

It is categorically distinct from a gunshot wound, a blast injury, or any form of trauma associated with combat. It requires:

• A person with medical knowledge or at minimum basic knowledge of intravenous injection
• Close physical access to the victim
• A deliberate decision to kill

If a person in medical clothing carried out this act, it means someone who was trusted with Noa Marciano's physical care — or who appeared in that capacity — used that access to kill her.

This is not a description of crossfire. It is not a description of a situation that deteriorated. It is a description of an execution.

Al-Shifa hospital was the largest medical complex in Gaza. It was also — as confirmed by IDF operations, US intelligence assessments, and material recovered on-site — embedded with Hamas infrastructure:

• Tunnel network: IDF forces discovered a tunnel shaft inside the hospital complex. The network below Al-Shifa connected to Hamas's broader underground infrastructure.
• Command and communications equipment: Weapons, ammunition, IDF-issued equipment (from October 7 attacks), and communications gear were found inside the hospital buildings.
• US assessment: U.S. intelligence assessed (declassified January 2024) that Hamas and PIJ used the Al-Shifa complex to command forces and hold some hostages, but largely evacuated it days before Israeli troops entered. The U.S. has not released the underlying evidence, and a Washington Post analysis (December 2023) found Israel's public evidence fell short of showing a command center.
• Hostage presence: The presence of Noa Marciano's body near the hospital confirms that at least one hostage was held or moved through the Al-Shifa area.

Hamas operating from within a hospital does not make the hospital a lawful military target under all conditions — international humanitarian law requires a graduated analysis. But it does mean the hospital's staff and surroundings were not a neutral medical environment. It means armed Hamas operatives were present. It means someone holding a hostage near a hospital building was not incidentally in a medical context — they were operating in an environment Hamas controlled.

The following questions remain open, pending public release of the video or independent forensic review:

Who was the person in medical clothing? The video apparently shows someone dressed as a medical worker. Whether this person was a hospital employee, a Hamas operative using medical attire as cover, or someone in another capacity is not publicly established.

Was Noa Marciano brought to the hospital for treatment or to be killed? One reading is that she was taken to Al-Shifa because she was injured and needed care — and was then killed there as IDF forces approached, to prevent rescue. Another is that she was moved to the hospital area specifically as a staging point. The evidence does not yet resolve this.

Why hasn't the video been released? The IDF has released substantial documentation of Hamas atrocities, including footage from body cameras and security cameras. The decision not to release this video may reflect: (a) operational security considerations; (b) the family's wishes; (c) evidentiary preservation for future prosecutions; or (d) something else. The family is aware of the footage and has spoken about its contents.

What do independent forensic pathologists conclude? The father's account and IDF findings agree. No independent forensic analysis has been publicly released.