IDF chief to female tank crews who battled on Gaza border: You have silenced the doubters

IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi meets with female tank crews from the mixed-gender Caracal Battalion that battled on the Gaza border during the October 7 assault, telling them their actions had silenced any doubters over the ability of women to be in combat units.

“As you know there has been a debate in Israel in recent years if women should be in combat units. I say to you: Sometimes you must speak a lot to explain something,” Halevi said. “But I think that in this case we got an answer with no words, an answer of action and fighting.”

The soldiers are part of a company of all-women tank operators, which was made permanent in the Israel Defense Forces in 2022 after a two-year pilot program. The company, in the Caracal light infantry battalion, usually operates along the Egyptian border — not in wars or in fighting behind enemy lines.

On the morning of October 7, they left their base at Nitzana, on the Egyptian border and rushed to the Gaza border.

They were credited with killing dozens of Hamas terrorists in a 17-hour running battle and stopping the attackers’ advance further into Israel at several sites.