The latest American to be called up to the front lines of Israel's war against Hamas is a teenage model from the Dallas area. Megan Daniels, 19, completed her foundational training a few days before Hamas launched a deadly attack on Israel, which claimed 1,400 lives. Israeli forces are currently preparing to invade Gaza in retaliation for the terrorist attacks.
Daniels, 19, is currently in Israel, waiting for her deployment, and is identified as one of 21 "Lone soldiers" – a member of the IDF without family support in Israel - commonly originating from Texas, WFAA reported. After graduating from Parish Episcopal School in Plano, Texas, Daniels postponed her college plans to go to Israel.
Behind Enemy Lines
The dual American-Israeli citizen was in Tel Aviv for work when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7. Days before the onslaught, she had just finished her basic training. "Megan, I think, hatched this plan when she was on a visit to Israel in middle school," her father, Eddie Daniels, told KXAS.
"She wanted to be a part of supporting Israel in the way that she thought was best and that was joining the IDF."
"We are terrified, and she is scared, because you never anticipate something of this scale happening," her mother, Taryn, shared with WFAA.
"Her strength and her determination and commitment to this is astounding, she's a lot braver and stronger than I am."
In recent months, Daniels has documented her transition from a model to a soldier through occasional social media posts. Known as a model affiliated with Matriarch Model Management, her Instagram profile shows numerous glamorous photos, including bikini shots.
Additionally, in a TikTok video, she jokingly quipped about being sent home from the army on her first day.
Her Other Side
Even though she's thousands of miles away, support from her home country has reached Daniels. "My daughter did ask me to share with you specifically that everyone in Israel has seen that image of the Dallas skyline has been going around and they're all so touched by the support they're getting from America," her mother said.
Daniels found comfort in the images of a Dallas skyline adorned in blue and white, symbolizing solidarity with Israel.
Simultaneously, her parents and friends have been gathering funds for IDF members like Daniels.
The collected funds will be directed to Friends of the IDF to support field hospitals, armored ambulances, medical supplies, plasma, and hygiene kits.
"A lot of us think, had I been alive when the Holocaust happened, I would've done something," Eddy stated.
"Well, she's in Israel, and she can do something now. About really the greatest threat to Judaism since the Nazis."
