The Washington Post: Israeli female soldiers aren’t protected and this poses a threat to their missions
The Washington Post reported that the female soldiers of the Israeli Border Surveillance Unit, who warned of an imminent attack on October 7, are still being neglected by their commanders.
This team consists of a large number of young women, who monitor the borders with Lebanon and Gaza.
Over the past year, a group of female Israeli soldiers have monitored Hezbollah movements from their position on a mountaintop overlooking the border with Lebanon, documenting the deployment of the party’s fighters and missiles.
They monitored the movements of Hezbollah’s fighters as they moved through narrow alleys and green valleys, documenting the installation and repositioning of rocket launchers, as the fighters approached the border fence and then retreated.
These observers were responsible for identifying and documenting the drones, mortar shells, rockets, and anti-tank missiles that had been flying over northern Israel since the beginning of the war.
Despite the passage of a year since the Hamas attack on October 7, the female soldiers express their concern that Israel continues to ignore the threats on the southern border with the Gaza Strip.
Field observers in the area around Gaza were among the first to spot Hamas preparations for a large-scale attack, and were among the first to be killed or kidnapped during those events.
In this context, one of the female soldiers, who asked to remain anonymous according to Israeli army protocol, expressed her feeling of neglect, saying, “We’re not protected, and this is a problem for us, but it’s also a danger to our work, which is very important”.
At the Nahal Oz base, less than a mile from the border with Gaza, a group of female observers were detained by gunmen, herded against the fence and then driven into trucks into the Gaza Strip.
The incident raised fears among observers in the north, who monitor the movements of Hezbollah fighters, that they could face the same fate.
The Washington Post spoke to current and former female observers and their families, as well as military experts and intelligence officials, about the challenges they face in carrying out their duties.
Some pointed to gender discrimination in the Israeli military, where men dominate decision-making positions.
Heavy bureaucracy that favors the use of technology over field intelligence was also noted.
In a related context, the Israeli army refused to comment on the events related to the attack, indicating that it could not make any statement while the investigations were ongoing.
