Lieutenant Colonel S., the IDF’s first female offensive operations head at the military’s Northern Command, had been evacuated from her home at the onset of the Gaza war on October 7. “We can’t get used to a situation of families being evacuated from their home for a year,” She told Ynet.
Since the outbreak of the war, S. has also been working to change this reality. The officer has been responsible in recent months, among other things, for dozens of plans aimed at eliminating Hezbollah commanders and reducing the organization's capabilities.
She took up her position about a month ago, stepping directly into Operation Northern Arrows, much of which she conceived during her previous roles in the Northern Command. In the long months leading up to the IDF's operation against Hezbollah, she operated in her previous position executing attack plans against Hezbollah's rocket array.
These actions degraded the terror army’s capabilities, making it harder for them to fire mortars and rockets as planned toward northern communities. One of these communities is Kibbutz Matzuva, near the border in the western Galilee, where S. herself lives.
She was evacuated from there a year ago with her three small children and her husband, Major B., who also serves as a Northern Command intelligence officer. As a result, the two have become a constant point of inquiry from their friends in Kibbutz Matzuva and the nearby town of Shtula, where she grew up.
"I can't tell them what we're doing, but I assure them that we are practically restoring security and that we've taken away many of Hezbollah's capabilities. We can’t get used to a situation of families being evacuated from their home for a year, but we're at a point where we will be able to return home safely very soon — and I'll be the first to return to the house we built in the kibbutz," she said.
Lieutenant Colonel S. stressed that weakening Hezbollah and the heavy blows inflicted by her comrades in the Northern Command didn't start last month but have been ongoing, with thousands of targets being hit daily over the past year from the air and the ground, directed by the Northern Command’s operation center.
"We know how to fire at exact locations, with full control and creative ideas from all offensive sources, including the Navy, which is working with us," she said. "We've been formulating these plans for years and suddenly executing them is thrilling and gives an adrenaline rush when you see it happen before your eyes. The reality here won't be what it was before."
Before Operation Northern Arrows began, S. and B/ managed to visit her parents briefly to support them, hinting that they'd be gone for a long period of time. "For months now, my parents have taken full responsibility for raising the kids, doing homework with them and supporting us from afar," she said.
"We're at a critical juncture and we're actively restoring the sense of security for all northern residents. Hezbollah has weak points and we know exactly where to strike. We're shaking Hezbollah and the reality that existed here on October 6 won't return,” she added.
“Our home hasn't been damaged and we had just finished building it before the war. We managed to visit briefly to water the plants and make sure it remained intact, but we'll return to it to raise our children without a doubt."
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