IDF announces formation of new all-female combat company

The IDF announces the formation of a new all-female combat company next month in the 869th Combat Intelligence Collection Unit, which is stationed on the Lebanon border.

That unit, part of the Border Defense Corps, operates under the 91st “Galilee” Regional Division. In the past year, the IDF says, the unit has killed some 60 Hezbollah operatives and destroyed numerous sites belonging to the terror group, including weapon depots, in drone strikes.

“As part of the unit’s organizational and technological changes, a new female combat company is expected to be established in March to improve the unit’s capabilities and readiness,” the military says.

The IDF’s combat intelligence collection units — stationed on Israel’s borders and in the West Bank — include mixed-gender light infantry components and teams of all-female surveillance soldiers.

According to data from 2025, some 8,500 female soldiers serve in combat roles, more than double the 2020 figure. The army has said it is allowing more women to serve in combat positions out of practical considerations, not due to a social agenda, saying it requires all the personnel available to it.

Earlier this week, following a segment on the pro-government Channel 14 attacking female combat soldiers, IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said the contribution of female combat soldiers in the military is “not a slogan” but a “proven operational fact.”