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women in the IDF

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen Eyal Zamir (center) monitors Israeli strikes on Iran from the IAF war room on June 8, 2026. (IDF)
June 24, 2026, 4:27 pm
IDF chief to rabbis: We’re short thousands of troops, need female combat soldiers
In meeting with religious Zionist leaders angry over women’s inclusion in tank crews, Zamir says integration is ‘of tremendous operational importance’
By Emanuel Fabian and ToI Staff
A group of female soldiers take part in a training exercise in the tank commanders' course, in an undated photograph. (Israel Defense Forces)
June 11, 2026, 1:39 am
After rabbis’ threat, IDF says men and women won’t serve in same tanks
Army says options for integrating women don’t include putting them in same vehicle as men, after Hesder yeshiva rabbis vowed to bar students from Armored Corps units
By Emanuel Fabian
Female soldiers operate a tank in the Negev Desert, in an undated photograph. (Israel Defense Forces)
June 10, 2026, 12:28 pm
Yeshiva rabbis say they won’t send students to tank units due to integration of women
Leaders of 12 yeshivas in ‘hesder’ joint study-service program reject plan to allow women to serve with men; IDF source says army in ‘impossible situation,’ critics pan it as refusal to serve
By ToI Staff, Rossella Tercatin and Emanuel Fabian
Troops of the Commando Brigade operate in southern Lebanon, in a handout photo issued on November 26, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
June 4, 2026, 3:02 pm
In first, female IDF combat soldier completes training for elite Sayeret Matkal unit
Servicewoman to soon be integrated into commando unit’s activities, following year and a half of training, army says
By Emanuel Fabian
Female soldiers cut their military ID cards at an IDF base on the day of their discharge, when three of them were court-martialed and fined for wearing revealing clothing. (Screen capture: X, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
April 18, 2026, 11:39 am
IDF court-martials female troops who showed up for discharge in tank tops, short skirt
Military docks pay of 3 women; mother calls incident ‘repulsive and humiliating’; punishment of troops comes amid uproar after medics were jailed for barbecuing on base on Shabbat
By ToI Staff
Female soldiers operate a tank in the Negev Desert, in an undated photograph. (Israel Defense Forces)
April 13, 2026, 11:04 pm
High Court orders IDF to allow women in Armored Corps tanks by November 2026
Military twice delayed pilot program during war; justices cite legal obligation to give equal opportunities when assigning men and women to combat roles
By Emanuel Fabian
A still image from the now-removed music video for the song 'Notnim Yadayim' ('Lending Hands'), which was included in the IDF Rabbinate's 2026 Passover Haggadah, portrays a reservist's wife buying groceries wither her child as tanks stand in the background. (IDF Rabbinate)
April 11, 2026, 1:58 pm
IDF removes clip of Passover song slammed as ‘medley of contempt’ for women in military
Tune featured in army rabbinate’s Haggadah celebrates reservist’s wife who loads groceries as her husband loads artillery; IDF says its publication did not follow guidelines
By ToI Staff and Stav Levaton
Lt. Cdr. 'Resh' in an undated photo published by the military on February 18, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)
February 18, 2026, 7:50 pm
In first, IDF says female officer to command Navy warship
Lt. Cdr. ‘Resh’ will lead Sa’ar 4.5-class missile boat, in move military says ‘constitutes significant milestone’ amid calls against women serving in combat roles
By Emanuel Fabian
Female soldiers operate a tank in the Negev Desert, in an undated photograph. (Israel Defense Forces)
February 18, 2026, 11:56 am
Top religious Zionist rabbis urge Netanyahu to keep women out of IDF tanks
Rabbis say army ‘capitulating to foreign social agenda’ with Armored Corps pilot for female troops; warn it would put Orthodox soldiers in impossible situation, harm people’s army
By Emanuel Fabian
Hezbollah supporters raise their group's flags during a protest condemning recent Israeli military actions in Lebanon in Beirut, Lebanon, February 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
February 9, 2026, 2:25 pm
Daily Briefing Feb. 9 – IDF brings in top terror figure in Lebanon for intel
Military correspondent Emanuel Fabian takes us on a tour of Israel’s borders to assess security on each, and weighs in on the uptick in the number of female IDF combat soldiers
By Amanda Borschel-Dan and Emanuel Fabian
A female IDF combat medic on deployment in the Gaza Strip. (Israel Defense Forces)
December 5, 2025, 3:09 pm
IDF declares trial of women combat engineers in elite Yahalom unit a success
During 2.5-year pilot program, female soldiers joined hundreds of engineering operations in Gaza and northern front, army says
By Emanuel Fabian
The photograph 'Equals' by Alicia Shahaf was created in response to the testimonies of female combat soldiers, reflecting how they perceive themselves through a complex gendered lens, for 'Women Tell War: Voices from the Front' exhibit at Kibbutz Dorot, opening on October 31, 2025 (Courtesy)
October 9, 2025, 9:30 am
Women on the frontlines highlighted in art exhibit near Gaza border
‘Women Tell War: Voices from the Front’ opens at Kibbutz Dorot at the end of October
By Jessica Steinberg
"Yud," a deputy commander of an IAF fighter squadron, speaks to Channel 12 in an interview broadcast on June 27, 2025. (Channel 12 screenshot/Facebook)
June 28, 2025, 11:53 am
Married couple, both IAF combat navigators, flew sorties over Iran during 12-day war
‘Yud’ is first woman to be deputy commander of a fighter squadron; she tells Channel 12 she is ‘not worried’ about husband but checks the monitors to make sure he returns safely
By ToI Staff
Israeli soldiers seen near the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, on March 4, 2024. (Jamal Awad/Flash90)
May 31, 2025, 7:11 am
As more women head to war, IDF uniforms designed for men expose female troops to risks
The army’s one-uniform-fits-all approach means a fifth of combat soldiers are operating in clothes, vests and other gear unsuited to their physiques, harming safety and effectiveness
By Tal Schneider
Female officers in the Border Defense Corps (IDF)
May 21, 2025, 12:48 pm
Lacking Haredi manpower, IDF turns to womanpower: 1 in 5 fighters are now female
During recent Knesset committee discussions, IDF representatives revealed that women now make up 20.9% of the combat force. Among them are a growing number of religious women
By Tal Schneider
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