For the first time in Israeli history, female combat intelligence soldiers have been deployed to the front line on the Lebanon border, which is currently Israel's most volatile one.
The soldiers are tasked with collecting precision intelligence via drones, a new capability for Israel's forces in that sector.
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Until now, the IDF has refrained from sending female soldiers to the Lebanese border. But approximately two months ago, the military decided to open the 869th combat intelligence battalion, "Shachaf," to an all-female section that specializes in drone intelligence collection.
"We double the forces in the sector. No one in the area knows how to use drones, certainly not at our level, so we are considered forces in high demand," explains Lt. Nurit Rokach, commander of the new section.
An official in the IDF Northern Command confirmed that the drone section was a game-changer for the sector.
"The female soldiers are able to operate the new technologies in an outstanding manner, and we have absolute faith in them," the official said.
Meanwhile, the soldiers and officers know that they have broken a glass ceiling in terms of the public's perception of where women can be deployed, but among themselves, they say there is no difference between them and their male comrades.
"It's not something we think about on a daily basis," Rokach says, adding that "Both male and female combat intelligence soldiers provide the first response in real time, so we need to operate on two levels – to provide the intelligence, and also the first response in the field. No other fighting force has that capability."
The drone section is attached to the Adir Company, which has been operating on the Lebanese border for the past eight months.
Company commander Capt. Barak Choi says that "In the last two months, we've doubled our tools, with new and varied capabilities, including drones."
Choi says that the addition of the female soldiers has not adversely affected operations in any way. "It doesn't carry an operational cost. The opposite – the section meets an operational need."
Sgt. Keren Mor has been serving in this role for a year, and has been with the new section for a few months. She sees her deployment as a mission: "We do everything to become as familiar as we can with the territory and the enemy – and provide the highest-level solution to the demands in the field."
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