IDF's Female Combat Soldiers Deploy in Lebanon for First Time

Female soldiers from a combat intelligence unit in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) deployed in southern Lebanon for the first time in the country’s history, according to media reports.

The Jerusalem Post reported:

For the first time in Israel’s military history, female combat soldiers entered Lebanon as part of an operational mission. Northern Command chief Maj.-Gen. Ori Gordin approved the deployment of a team from the combat intelligence battalion into southern Lebanon several weeks ago.

Since the onset of the war, the combat intelligence team, consisting of female soldiers, had been stationed near the Syrian border and in the Mount Dov region. Their tasks included gathering intelligence, identifying terrorist operatives, creating target lists, and directing fire from ground and aerial forces to neutralize threats and dismantle terrorist infrastructure.

…

The soldiers revealed that the mission uncovered valuable intelligence on anti-tank missile sites, buildings used by Hezbollah, and precise target locations. “In one case, we guided tank fire based on our photographs. The images we captured directly incriminated Hezbollah, showcasing their weaponry inside homes and villages. Later, attack helicopters struck those targets,” said Corporal Shani.

The unit was only in Lebanon for about 12 hours, the Post noted.

The issue of female soldiers in combat is a fraught one in Israel. Female soldiers have participated in most other aspects of the war against Hamas and Hezbollah, including female pilots who carried out Israel’s response to Iran’s ballistic missile attacks last month. A group of female tank commanders killed dozens of Hamas terrorists during the defense of Israel on October 7, 2023

However, several female soldiers were killed and captured by Hamas at their observation base near Gaza, and remain hostages today.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.

Photo: file