2023 Israeli female tank crew fight

The recruitment of women into combat positions in the Israel Defense Forces was rather slow.{{cite news |title=All-Female IDF Tank Crew Makes History During October 7 Battles at Israel |url=https://www.nysun.com/article/all-female-idf-tank-crew-makes-history-during-october-7-battles-at-israel&hl=en&gl=us |archive-date=5 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231205011907/https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:da-75nQrjW8J:https://www.nysun.com/article/all-female-idf-tank-crew-makes-history-during-october-7-battles-at-israel&hl=en&gl=us }} The process accelerated after 1995, when a young soldier, Alice Miller, asked the Supreme Court of Israel to allow her to enroll in pilot training. As a result of the landmark decision, although Miller personally did not make it into the 3% of those who qualified, more combat positions in the army became available to female soldiers. Five years later, in 2000, the first defense Caracal Battalion was created.

On 27 October 2022, the Israel Defense Forces announced that they had formed all-female tank crews, who had successfully completed two years of testing. The company is armed with Merkava IV tanks and is defending the Egyptian border.{{Cite web |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/embargo-1300-idf-solidifies-role-of-all-female-tank-crew-after-two-year-trial-deemed-a-success/ |title=IDF to deploy all-female tank crews after two-year trial deemed a success |website=The Times of Israel |access-date=2023-11-29 |archive-date=2023-11-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231128174852/https://www.timesofisrael.com/embargo-1300-idf-solidifies-role-of-all-female-tank-crew-after-two-year-trial-deemed-a-success/ }} Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi noted: “I believe that women tank crews will carry out the border protection mission professionally and with great success and will form a significant part of the IDF's operational efforts.”

On 7 October 2023, on the holiday of Simchat Torah, militants presumed to be from the militant group Hamas attacked Kibbutz Holit near the southern Gaza Strip in a surprise attack on Israel and killed at least 13 people.{{Cite web |title=Photos: Israeli volunteers clean up kibbutz attacked by Hamas on October 7 |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2023/10/27/israeli-volunteers-clean-up-kibbutz-attacked-by-hamas-on-october-7 |access-date=2024-07-07 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en |archive-date=2024-07-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240712091354/https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2023/10/27/israeli-volunteers-clean-up-kibbutz-attacked-by-hamas-on-october-7 |url-status=live }}

The tank crew of the Caracal battalion, under the command of Captain Carney, was on the border with Egypt at the Nitsana base on the morning of October 7, approximately 40 km south of the Gaza Strip. Having received the order{{From whom?|date=September 2024}}, the battalion, comprising two Merkava IV tanks and a Namer armored personnel carrier, drove along Highway 232 north near the border with the Gaza Strip.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

According to the recollections of Senior Sergeant Tal-Sara, after arriving at Kibbutz Sufa and seeing a damaged IDF armored personnel carrier with wounded soldiers around it, her tank came under heavy fire from three directions, and she began to realize that they were under attack. She and the other 20-year-old female soldiers had not received training in firing the 50-caliber Katlanit remote weapons and had to improvise. They gave battle to dozens of Hamas members, who were armed with AK-47s and RPGs.{{cite web|url=https://nashdom.us/home/public/publikatsii/chetyre-izrailskie-tankistki--pervye-zhenschiny-v-mirovoj-istorii-srazhavshiesja-v-tankovom-boju-na-protjazhenii-17-chasov-podrjad|title=Четыре израильские танкистки — первые женщины в мировой истории, сражавшиеся в танковом бою на протяжении 17 часов подряд|language=Russian|trans-title=Four Israeli female tank crews are the first women in world history to fight in a tank battle for 17 hours straight|website=Nashdom|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240303145615/https://nashdom.us/home/public/publikatsii/chetyre-izrailskie-tankistki--pervye-zhenschiny-v-mirovoj-istorii-srazhavshiesja-v-tankovom-boju-na-protjazhenii-17-chasov-podrjad|archive-date=3 March 2024|access-date=14 September 2024}}

They were joined by two more Merkava tanks. One was left near the gap in the border fence to block the movement of Hamas.[https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=884434319752579 Интервью с участницами боя] на канале Кешет 12 (иврит, русские субтитры), {{YouTube|8yrDeRKj6n8|оригинал с английскими субтитрами}} The second tank and armored vehicle were among dozens of Hamas members with RPGs and other weapons. At the height of the battle, Carney called a third tank from the Nitzana base under the command of Sergeant Ophir, which arrived two hours later. Some Hamas members were killed and remaining members retreated back behind the border fence.

One of the Merkava tanks, under the command of Lieutenant Michal, began to help liberate Kibbutz Sufa from hundreds of Hamas members, and as a result, her team, after more than 6 hours of battle, killed dozens of Hamas members.

At the same time, the company commander, Captain Karni, moved from an armored personnel carrier to a tank and fought with the team in and around Kibbutz Holit, eliminating dozens of Hamas members. Then a tank under the command of Karmi drove through the closed main gate of the kibbutz and, seeing two members of Hamas in ambush on the side of the road, simply drove over them. They were able to repel the attack on the kibbutz and prevent the continuation of the Hamas attack on the south of the country. In total, the battle with the participation of Carney's company lasted about 17 hours. Seven 20-year-old Israeli tank crews took part in the battle: Hagar, Hila, Tal-Sara, Michal, Karni, Ophir and Tamar, who allegedly killed 50 members of Hamas. Their last names have not been disclosed for privacy-related security reasons.

The battle was the first instance in modern military history of an all-female armored unit taking part in combat.{{Cite news |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-11-26/ty-article/all-woman-israeli-tank-crews-killed-50-terrorists-over-17-hours-of-combat-on-october-7/0000018c-0bec-d65f-a7dd-fbfff6dd0000 |title=All-woman Israeli Tank Crews Killed 50 Terrorists Over 17 Hours of Combat on October 7 |newspaper=Haaretz |access-date=2023-11-28 |archive-date=2023-11-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231126154841/http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-11-26/ty-article/all-woman-israeli-tank-crews-killed-50-terrorists-over-17-hours-of-combat-on-october-7/0000018c-0bec-d65f-a7dd-fbfff6dd0000 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |url=https://www.afr.com/world/middle-east/my-insta-blew-up-how-all-women-tank-crews-took-on-hamas-20231127-p5en1x#:~:text=Israeli%20female-only%20tank%20crews,over%20the%20treatment%20of%20women.&text=On%20October%207,%20three%20Israeli,with%20Egypt%20when%20Hamas%20attacked. |title='My Insta blew up': Feminism and tank warfare in Israel |date=27 November 2023 |access-date=2023-11-29 |archive-date=2023-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231127055214/https://www.afr.com/world/middle-east/my-insta-blew-up-how-all-women-tank-crews-took-on-hamas-20231127-p5en1x#:~:text=Israeli%20female-only%20tank%20crews,over%20the%20treatment%20of%20women.&text=On%20October%207,%20three%20Israeli,with%20Egypt%20when%20Hamas%20attacked.}}

The performance of the unit, and other acts by Israeli female soldiers, on October 7 received praise from IDF leadership and impacted the way women were viewed in the IDF and represented an important milestone in the integration of women in the IDF, symbolizing a significant shift after a prolonged struggle for acceptance.{{cite news |last1=Silkoff |first1=Shira |title=For Israeli women, the IDF war room’s glass ceiling is constantly reinforced |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/for-israeli-women-the-idf-war-rooms-glass-ceiling-is-constantly-reinforced/ |access-date=13 April 2025 |work=Times of Israel |date=2023-12-23}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/19/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-women-soldiers.html |title=Israeli Women Fight on Front Line in Gaza, a First |last=Kershner |first=Isabel |date=2024-01-19 |website=New York Times |access-date=2024-01-27 |archive-date=2024-02-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240202015245/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/19/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-women-soldiers.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Linder |first1=Ronny |title=The Gaza War Could Be a Game-changer for Israeli Women in Combat |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-03-15/ty-article-magazine/.highlight/the-gaza-war-could-be-a-game-changer-for-israeli-women-in-combat/0000018e-3e46-d9ae-ad9f-3fc6b07c0000 |access-date=13 April 2025 |work=Haaretz |date=2024-03-15 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240315023845/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-03-15/ty-article-magazine/.highlight/the-gaza-war-could-be-a-game-changer-for-israeli-women-in-combat/0000018e-3e46-d9ae-ad9f-3fc6b07c0000 |archive-date=2024-03-15}}

Israel has made use of its female soldiers, including Israeli female tank crews, as a public relations tool in the Gaza war. Their involvement in combat is used as part of a campaign to garner support for Israel by presenting a progressive image, in contrast to the conservative climate in Gaza.

Director Ayelet Menahemi and writer-actress Eleanor Sela, whose feature Seven Blessings won the Ophir Prize and was submitted to the Academy Awards, announced in December 2023 that they were working on a movie about the all-female tank unit's activities during the October 7 attacks. According to the filmmakers, the film will depict the battle, the founding of the unit, and the struggles of women combatants in the IDF. The film is the first narrative feature to be announced on the attacks.{{cite news |last1=Wiseman |first1=Andreas |title=Filmmakers Behind Israel’s 2024 Oscar Submission To Tell Story Of All-Female Tank Unit Which Defended Against October 7 Terror Attacks |url=https://deadline.com/2023/12/israel-hamas-terror-attack-movie-all-female-tank-unit-ophir-winner-1235660575/ |access-date=13 April 2025 |work=Deadline |date=2023-12-10}}

• Women in the Israel Defense Forces
• Women in the Gaza war

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sc-Go8rGCpQ All-women tank crews. A comparison of Israel and DNR (Russian)] – by Sergei Aslanyan, Khodorkovsky LIVE channel of Open Russia

{{Gaza war}}

Category:2023 Hamas attack on Israel

Category:Battles involving Israel

Category:Battles during the Israel–Hamas war

Category:October 2023 in Israel

Category:Propaganda in Israel

Category:Women in the Israeli military

Category:Tank battles involving Israel