The Killing of Nahshon Wachsman

On Friday, October 14th, 1994, IDF soldier Nahshon Wachsman, who was abducted by Hamas terrorists a few days earlier was killed during a failed rescue mission.

Just five days earlier, Wachsman was waiting at the Bnai Atarot Junction to hitchhike to Jerusalem. Four Hamas terrorists dressed as Jewish men stopped the car for him and he got in, unaware of their disguises.

Wachsman was taken to a home in Bir Nabala, north of Jerusalem, and from there the terrorists transferred a videotape of Wachsman speaking in Hebrew to the Gaza Strip, in order to confuse the Israeli forces and make them think he was kept over there. In the video, Wachsman is seen asking Prime Minister Rabin to release Sheikh Ahmad Yassin and another 200 Palestinian prisoners, or else he was going to be killed on Friday at 20:00.

It wasn't until Friday, October 14th, that the Shabak found the whereabouts of Wachsman, and the team was put together towards the rescue mission. The team consisted of soldiers from Sayeret Matkal, and all of the IDF and Shabak leaders were overseeing the operation.

The operation took place at 19:00. The forces broke in, and unfortunately, Nahshon Wachsman was killed immediately. Another officer, Nir Poraz, was also killed during the rescue attempt. Three of the terrorists were killed, and seven soldiers were injured.

Yehuda Wachsman, Nahshon's father, recently passed away (June 25, 2020). He was a symbol of strength and resilience, and he would tour the country lecturing about overcoming such a painful tragedy.