Paramedic Staff Sergeant Agam Naim, who fell in Rafah on Tuesday, was the first female soldier to be killed in this current war since the IDF began its incursion into Gaza. For the past six months, she served in the Gaza Strip alongside the 52nd Battalion's Armored Corps, and was due to begin her leave soon. Like her, dozens of female paramedics risk their lives in the war to save the lives of others, and so do a myriad of other women in countless roles.
The female medical soldiers like Naim take a crucial part in the fighting. They evacuate the wounded and provide medical treatment under fire, standing side by side with the male soldiers even in tragic events. Sergeant Gaia Tzubari, the first female soldier to be seriously injured since the IDF entered Gaza, who also lit a beacon on the last Independence Day, served as a paramedic in Gaza. She gave medical treatment to soldiers who were hit by an anti-tank missile in Shijaiyah and was shot: "Even if I had known this would happen, I would have gone in again," she said.
"We are being prepared for exactly this moment: treating the wounded under fire. If there is a wounded person, you go to help him, even though it's scary and your heart is pounding. Your mind is on autopilot and you run without thinking twice," she added.
On October 7, women fought and worked to save lives. Lt. Col. Yarden Shukrun, commander of the Shahar Battalion in the Rescue and Training Division, left her home in Ofakim on that Saturday morning and fought the terrorists. In an interview with Ynet, she said: "We woke up from the sirens. I hugged my children tightly in the bomb shelter, and received an initial update about terrorists at the Home Front Command base. I took my weapon and a soldier from the battalion who lives next to us, and we ran to the base."
She added that the two joined the forces that fought the terrorists who were entrenched in the base, and after they were all eliminated, she joined other female officers from the battalion under her command. They returned to Ofakim, where they rescued residents who were besieged in their homes. "For 72 hours we rescued people. Some of them are actually my neighbors. We made a heroic effort as a battalion together with cadets from the 1st Brigade. I was bursting with pride," she said.
Shukrun was the first female battalion commander to participate in combat, and thus actually made history.
"I don't know what will happen to the female combat soldier status in Israel the day after the war, I don't think about it either. I want to be the best rescue soldier there is. If we stick to the task, there seems to be no gap. I never felt like there was something I was told 'you can't do' only because I'm a woman. We can also operate deep in Lebanon if they have to," she said.
'A great privilege to take part in combat'
Lt. Col. Or Ben Yehuda, commander of the mixed male and female Caracal Battalion, fought on the morning of October 7 against dozens of terrorists who occupied the Sufa outpost. At Ynet's annual women's conference, held about six months ago, she said: "Every day I feel like a winner when I see female soldiers push boundaries. People don't believe me that they load the shells by themselves and activate the system. I say to both my men and women, we had a great privilege to take part in the fighting."
The Iron Swords War has proven to be a turning point for women in the IDF, especially for female combat soldiers. From the War of Independence in 1948 until this past year, they were not given the opportunity to take such a significant part in fighting in enemy territory.
Along with the achievements of female soldiers, there are also fallen heroines who died protecting Israel and its people: the female reconnaissance soldiers who warned of the upcoming attack and those who were killed in their base on October 7; the female Armored Corps soldiers who repelled terrorists in the Eshkol Region during the massacre; the late Captain Nimri who was killed on base while protecting her soldiers in Nahal Oz; and Major E. who rescued hostages in Gaza and was injured in last week's helicopter crash in the Philadelphi Corridor.