The first mixed male-female battalion is operating in the heart of Gaza's combat zones, including in the Shati neighborhood, performing both rescue missions and engineering missions.
Besides being mixed at the rank-and-file level, the commander of one of the battalions is herself a female, Lt. Col. "Yarden."
Joining Division 162 and Brigade 460, the battalion has been critical in inspecting areas for hidden lairs, weapons, terror infrastructure, and tunnels for approximately the last 10 days.
In a hotel used by Hamas as a headquarters, the mixed unit assisted an IDF commando unit in breaking through certain structures to facilitate the commandos' fluid movements.
Also, in the process, the mixed unit found a hidden underground floor with Hamas weapons and intelligence items.
40% of mixed unit in Gaza is made up of female soldiers
Throughout the invasion, the mixed unit has been deeply involved in rescue missions for a large number of wounded soldiers.
Lt.-Co. Yarden said, "the battalion is taking a substantial role in the core push of Division 162. Our mission is to help the soldiers easily break through [certain areas] and to constitute a significant rescue element as needed."
Yarden's overall commander, Col. Elad Edri said that 40% of his unit is now made up of female soldeirs, and that besides another lieutenant colonel like Yarden, there are many mid-level female commanders.
Edri said that the unit works closely with the Oketz Unit, which in peacetime specializes in rescuing people from earthquake disaster areas, including with specially trained dogs.
Further, he said that strategically his unit is operating in a similar way that the IDF operated in 2002 in the West Bank during Operation Defensive Shield, breaking through certain walls to gain movement and surprise against enemy forces
In other instances, the unit ensures that partially broken walls do not fall on the soldiers as they take up a new position.
Edri was asked about the unit's involvement in hospital-related inspections and revelations of hidden areas, and said he could not yet publicly address such issues.