A report by Israeli public broadcaster Kan on Sunday revealed new details about the 2021 death of Capt. Tomer Eiges, an IDF intelligence officer accused of security offenses, indicating that prison staff failed to respond promptly to his medical emergency.
According to Kan, after Eiges collapsed in prison, his cellmates called for help for 13 minutes – but it took around half an hour until staff called emergency services.
On the night of May 16, 2021, Eiges was found in serious condition at the detention facility and died shortly after at the hospital to which he was evacuated, at the age of 24.
One of the officer’s cellmates said that at 11:31 P.M., Eiges began to seize. “Another soldier knocked on the door and yelled, ‘Tomer is seizing, Tomer is seizing!'” he said. “I turned my head and saw things coming out from his mouth, like vomit. His body shook.”
Until the prison’s commanders arrived, the cellmates tried to assist him. The soldier described that when the commanders entered the cell, the other soldier “helped one of them to tilt Tomer’s body” and then the commanders took the cellmates outside. There was a commotion in the cell, and it took a while for the commanders to clear it in order to treat Eiges.
Kan report showing video footage from Tomer Eiges’ cell on the day he died.
“When Tomer collapsed, the two medics were in the shower, even though at least one should have been on call,” the lawyer representing Eiges’ parents said,
The company commander claimed she had called the medics, but that they did not arrive.
At 11:50 P.M., the commanders took the seizing officer to the prison clinic. The company commander told Kan, “I see the medic in a bra after a shower, and she simply didn’t know what to do.”
Kan reported that the staff only called Magen David Adom emergency services 28 minutes after Eiges collapsed. The platoon sergeant who spoke with the call center did not know whether Eiges was breathing or if he had a pulse.
Magen David Adom eventually instructed her to carry out resuscitation. Eight minutes passed from the call until an ambulance reached the prison. Eiges was pronounced dead at 1 A.M. on May 17.
The IDF commented on the report, stating that prison officials “acted to ensure the deceased was held in appropriate and proper conditions, but shortcomings and flaws were nonetheless found in their conduct.”
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Rambam Hospital, where Eiges was taken, stated, “The patient was evacuated by the IDF to the emergency room following a complaint of injury caused by a fall. He was thoroughly examined, and an injury resulting from a fall was ruled out.”
The gag order on Tomer Eiges’ name was lifted on Sunday at Kan’s request. The case evoked widespread public furor ever since Eiges died in 2021, with many details still kept under wraps.
The circumstances surrounding the officer’s death are unclear, and the reason for his imprisonment remains under a gag order. However, in 2021, it was cleared for publication that he was not accused of treason offenses nor of contact with a foreign agent.
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Captain Tomer Eiges’ grave, in 2021. Credit: Rami Shllush
Captain Tomer Eiges’ grave, in 2021. Credit: Rami Shllush
In September 2020, Eiges was arrested after a lengthy military investigation into serious security offenses. The army had said his motives were neither ideological nor political, and that he had concealed his actions despite being aware of the potential damage they could cause to state security.
Eiges cooperated during his interrogation and admitted to many of the acts attributed to him. He was held in the military prison while legal proceedings against him continued.
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In June 2023, the police team investigating the circumstances surrounding the death said it had found no indication that it was the result of a deliberate act.
In February last year, Eiges’s parents said that the opinion presented to them by then-Military Advocate General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi indicated that his death was caused by an unaddressed medical problem, and determined that it could not be concluded that the officer took his own life, as during his detention, he did not experience depressive symptoms.
“A series of failures and negligent conduct by several officials, alongside inadequate medical monitoring, led to his death,” they said.
Eiges was considered a computer science prodigy in high school, his acquaintances said. He completed a bachelor’s degree in computer science at 16. He served in a classified role in Military Intelligence for several years, was considered an outstanding officer and was highly praised.
In 2023, then-IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi announced that Eiges would be recognized as a fallen soldier.